ABSTRACT
Insurance is really the direct opposite of gambling. The peculiar characteristic of gambling is that it always involves the creation or unnecessary assumption of risk. If I gamble by tossing a coin or by throwing dice, I assume a risk and incur a chance of loss as well as a chance of gain in a manner that is wholly arbitrary and unnecessary. The coin need not have been tossed had I not so willed, and even if it had been tossed, I need not have entangled my personal fortunes with the outcome of the throw. In a horse race it normally happens that one horse wins and that the others are defeated. But this need not affect my personal fortunes. There is absolutely no risk to me in the outcome of any horse race unless I create the risk by betting on it.
