Costs and benefits of value judgements

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Those persons who must, willy-nilly, bear the lion's share of the costs generally are those who place the highest value on freedom and liberty, relative to order and stability in the sociobehavioral environment, particularly those who place the highest value on the actions that law inhibits. Those who bear relatively little costs are those who do not generally value freedom of choice and action highly, particularly those who place little value on the freedom to carry out the activities that the law prevents. - The Limits of Liberty. Ch 7. Sect. The Benefits and Costs of Law. 7.7.16. http://www.econlib.org/library/Buchanan/buchCv7c7.htm

When we have a distribution of laws, e.g. the 10 commandments, and a distribution of individuals with values, we impose costs on certain individuals who value "sins" the most. A discovery of a new value carries a huge "tax" advantage, at least until the value loophole is closed or the value becomes normative.