reciprocity
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reciprocity [2016/07/22 22:42] – Ryan Schram (admin) | reciprocity [2021/07/08 21:55] (current) – [Further Reading] Ryan Schram (admin) | ||
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- | # Reciprocity | + | # Reciprocity |
**Reciprocity**, | **Reciprocity**, | ||
- | Mauss begins with the observation that, contrary to popular belief, no natural impulse to barter and negotiate in exchanges. People, he argues, do not have a natural instinct to pursue their own self-interest | + | Mauss begins with the observation that, contrary to popular belief, |
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+ | Mauss concludes that we see so many examples of societies with a system of total services because in fact it reflects an essential quality of society itself, which is that society is a totality, a whole which is greater than the sum of its parts. To make this happen, to create and renew the social whole, society imposes upon all members the obligations of the gift. Specifically, | ||
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+ | ## " | ||
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+ | At first glance, Mauss appears to be saying that societies based on this kind of gift are qualitatively different than market-based societies, like the West. In some ways, he is trying to find a way to compare these kinds of societies. It would be a mistake to say that is asserting an " | ||
- | Mauss concludes that we see so many examples of societies | + | Rather, all societies |
- | But then that's where things get interesting. | + | Consider the emotions reciprocity evokes. It sounds like a word for fairness. And yet, there' |
> Tit for tat. | > Tit for tat. | ||
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Ouch! | Ouch! | ||
- | And then there' | + | And then there' |
- | Also, did you know that < | + | But then that is where things get really interesting. Consider also the feelings evoked by reciprocity by people who recognize its moral force. According to one author, |
- | The [[kula]] is conducted is grand ceremonial style and is steeped in formality and decorum. The kula is also a cutthroat competition for " | + | The [[kula]] is conducted is grand ceremonial style and is steeped in formality and decorum. The kula is also a cutthroat competition for " |
- | So, although Mauss tries to link the act of gift giving and reciprocity to a sense of moral unity and solidarity with one's community, often people do not experience reciprocity in this way. The system of total services can develop into an " | + | People who live in a gift system may themselves |
- | For our purposes, it is important to remember that Mauss' | ||
## References ## | ## References ## | ||
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- | ## Further Reading | + | ## Further Reading |
Graeber, David. 2012. Debt: The First 5000 Years. New York: Penguin Books. | Graeber, David. 2012. Debt: The First 5000 Years. New York: Penguin Books. | ||
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Kaufman, Frederick. 2009. “Let Them Eat Cash.” Harper’s Magazine, June. http:// | Kaufman, Frederick. 2009. “Let Them Eat Cash.” Harper’s Magazine, June. http:// | ||
+ | <WRAP box similar> | ||
reciprocity.1469252529.txt.gz · Last modified: 2016/07/22 22:42 by Ryan Schram (admin)