Gift Economy
17 days ago
- #gift economy
- #anthropology
- #reciprocity
- A gift economy is a system where valuables are given without explicit agreement for immediate or future rewards, governed by social norms and customs.
- Gift economies contrast with market economies or bartering, where goods and services are explicitly exchanged for value received.
- Anthropological research into gift economies began with Bronisław Malinowski's study of the Kula ring in the Trobriand Islands.
- Marcel Mauss's work 'The Gift' introduced concepts like reciprocity and inalienable possessions to distinguish different forms of exchange.
- Gift economies can build community, while market economies may harm community relationships.
- Principles of gift exchange include property rights, spheres of exchange, and the social relationships established.
- Gift-giving can be competitive, as seen in practices like the Moka exchange in Papua New Guinea and the Toraja funerals in Indonesia.
- Charity and alms-giving are forms of religiously sanctioned voluntary gifts without expectation of return, though they can have complex social implications.
- Modern examples of gift economies include open-source software development, file-sharing, and collaborative works like Wikipedia.
- Related concepts include mutual aid, moral economy, and the commons, which emphasize sharing and community over market exchange.