gift economy

is a term pointing to the fact that gifts are tied to expectation, rights, and obligations.

is characterized by the 'vector of the increase', which is to say that 'giving' creates further abundance which follows the object, while in commodity exchange 'abundance' is horded and stays behind as profit.

What does this flow of gift objects from person to person lead to' Hyde says that gift circles 'give increase.' Put differently, since the purpose of gift exchange is to facilitate the flow of 'social value,' a gift that is kept does not serve any purpose. One that is 'paid forward' does. 'Now that we have seen the figure of the circle we can understand what seems at first to be a paradox of gift exchange: when the gift is used, it is not used up,' observes Hyde. 'Quite the opposite, in fact: the gift that is not used will be lost, while the one that is passed along remains abundant.' This observation contrasts gift economies with market economies, since, as Hyde further notes, 'The distinction lies in what we might call the vector of the increase: in gift exchange it, the increase, stays in motion and follows the object, while in commodity exchange it stays behind as profit.'

is characterized by three interrelated obligations: To give, to accept, and to reciprocate.

Perhaps the earliest work on gift exchange was the 1924 essay by Marcel Mauss, 'Essau sur le don,' in which he characterizes gift economies as having three obligations: to give, to accept, and to reciprocate.

is distinguished from a commodity exchange in that a gift establishes a feeling-bond between two people, while the sale of a commodity leaves no necessary connection.

It is the cardinal difference between gift and commodity exchange that a gift establishes a feeling-bond between two people, while the sale of a commodity leaves no necessary connection. I go into a hardware store, pay the man for a hacksaw blade and walk out. I may never see him again. The disconnectedness is, in fact, a virtue of the commodity mode. We don't want to be bothered. If the clerk always wants to chat about the family, I'll shop elsewhere. I just want a hacksaw blade.35

is marked by a kind of decentralized cohesiveness which emerges in the wake of the many interconnected relationships that form when gifts are circulated.

A first critical link between gifts and the creation of community is made early in his book: 'To begin with, unlike the sale of a commodity, the giving of a gift tends to establish a relationship between the parties involved. Furthermore, when gifts circulate within a group, their commerce leaves a series of interconnected relationships in its wake, and a kind of decentralized cohesiveness emerges.'34

gift economy, n.Definitions

gift economy