We have all received things freely: life, the care of others, opportunities, undeserved forgiveness. Some of us have received more than others. Why? Not to wallow in self-satisfaction, but to put those things at the service of those who received less. Leonardo Polo’s anthropology helps us express this with a felicitous phrase: “The person adds to nature the effusive, contributing dimension”; the person is not exhausted by having, they are fulfilled by contributing (Sellés, 2024).

Benedict XVI expresses it most simply and profoundly: “The human being is made for giving”; therefore, authentically human development needs to make room for the principle of gratuitousness as an expression of fraternity. Gratuity is not a moral ornament or something  “extra”  after commerce and law: it is a condition of a truly human social life (Caritas in veritate).

Gratuity is at the origin of everything—no one paid to be born—but it’s not exclusive to the first chapter of our history. It should always be with us: when we work, rest, drive, and when we express our gratitude for the daily services we receive. That’s where the tip comes in: a small gesture that, if born from gratitude, becomes a school of expanded justice.

Now, let’s look at our city with data. According to the Peruvian Association of Market Research Companies (APEIM), there are 3,289,653 households in Metropolitan Lima; of these, only 2.4% belong to the SES A. That’s roughly 79,000 households. Furthermore, the average monthly household income for SES A in Lima is S/. 13,923. So, are you in that small group? If you are—or if you’re close—your personal social responsibility isn’t outsourced. It starts with how you treat and compensate those who serve you every day.

The national picture confirms the exceptional: across Peru, only 0.9% of the 10,196,775 households are in the SES A, approximately 92,000 households. In other words, very few received much. And the more we receive, the more the gift compels us.

What does all this have to do with tipping? A lot. First, because we can never  fully “pay”  for the service that a barber, hairdresser, taxi driver, busboy, or delivery person provides us. There’s always a human plus: time, care, a smile, that doesn’t fit into the price. Tipping allows us to acknowledge this surplus and turn our gratitude into a tangible financial signal.

Second, because a tip isn’t  “what’s left over.” If we believe that a person fulfills themselves by contributing, tipping is giving of oneself: paying attention, looking someone in the eye, addressing them by name, thanking them politely, acknowledging the other’s dignity. This  “manner”  is worth as much as the amount. A tip doesn’t buy another person; it honors them.

Third, because goodness is dispersible. When we tip judiciously and generously, we educate—without rhetoric—our friends, colleagues, and family. Those who see us learn that success is not measured solely by how much I accumulate, but by how much I give back. Thus, the logic of giving seeps into urban routine and silently corrects the narrowness of the “fair price”  understood as the only measure.

And what constitutes a “fair and generous” tip? There’s no universal rule; you have to weigh your ability and context. But if you belong to, or aspire to be part of, the 2.4% of Lima residents with a SES A income, and your household income is close to S/13,923 per month, the question isn’t  “what’s the minimum acceptable amount?” but rather  “what gesture speaks to what I’ve received and the country I want to build?” A simple guideline: make the amount felt—also by you—as an act of recognition, not a formality. And make sure the gesture is always accompanied by personal attention:  “Thank you, Rosa… Thank you, Carlos.” Names matter.

We can discuss taxes, models, and reforms—and we should. But let’s not delegate to politics what is a meter away from us. Generous tipping is a politics of proximity: it strengthens respect, improves the morale of service, injects liquidity into those who live day to day, and broadens the soul of those who give. Again with Benedict XVI: gratuitousness does not compete with justice; it precedes and completes it (Caritas in veritate).

If we have received more, it is in order to give more. May our tips—today, not tomorrow—speak of this truth: that we are, above all, contributing beings called to transform the gratitude received into gratitude offered. Let us not forget that in this exchange, which is not reduced to equivalence, the dignity of our city is at stake.