I was first introduced to the economic concept of opportunity cost as I sat through eucharist as a young chorister, listening to a section of the liturgy that asked forgiveness for “the good we have not done.”
The opportunity cost of every moral act was “the good left undone.”
For Mark Twain the cost of writing came at the expense of the opinions left unexpressed. And, as being dead is no barrier to writing for the New Yorker, you can read Twain’s essay in the 22 December, 2008 edition (abstract only).
His point is simple but enduring, that we are our own worst censors: Continue reading
