![]() There is some evidence that this could be true. Let’s take a look at some of the major examples of the Gift Economy that are already at work at the edges of our Market Economy, and the challenges they’re facing:
One of the principles of the Gift Economy is that the gift must always move (each time we receive, we must pay it forward). A second principle is that in the Gift Economy we are agents, not (passive) consumers — and what we give is generally what we have some mastery over, something we do well. Market Economy fans work hard to undermine these principles: The ‘value’ of every exchange, they say (usually some product in return for money, a surrogate for ‘equivalent’ goods or services) must be provided back to the giver, rather than forward to someone else. And the act of consumption is advertised as a pleasure in and of itself, a reward for previous personal sacrifice (unpleasant work), which imposes no obligation or responsibility on the consumer (or on the producer, for that matter). It is hard to overcome the constant propaganda barrage of the Market Economy, whose adherents invest billions of dollars in their ‘commercial messages’ and take up between 10% (some radio stations) and 75% (many magazines) of the total ‘information bandwidth’ of the media — a cost we ‘passive consumers’ of course pay back to them in the final cost of the product. Let’s not kid ourselves: This is war. File-sharing is just the tip of the iceberg in the battle between advocates of the Gift Economy and the Market Economy. Believers in the Market Economy see everything as property, and the use of any property without payment as theft. They are using absurdly anti-innovative patent law, armies of lawyers and their control of major political parties to try to crush every aspect of the Gift Economy. Even philanthropy is viewed through a Market lens — they expect a generous tax deduction, and will spend more on self-aggrandizing commercials (for which they also get a tax write-off) telling ‘consumers’ about their ‘generosity’ (for which they expect consumers to give them a lot of additional full-price business in gratitude) than they spend on the philanthropic contribution itself. They don’t like the Internet, which they see as anarchic and uncontrolled, and once planned to set up an Alternate Internet which would be run as a commercial operation. So we’re up against a lot: Failed Gift Economy projects, anti-Gift Economy propaganda, and political, legal and economic measures perpetrated by the rich and powerful to prevent ‘price-less’ transactions. How do we contend with this? Are the prospects for a Gift Economy doomed by the Tragedy of the Commons — the sense that if something belongs to everyone, it is no one’s responsibility and has no value? I believe we need to do three things simultaneously:
These actions won’t happen by themselves, and disorganization is what the anti-Gift Economy forces are counting on. We need a concerted effort to do these three things. But first, we need a lot more discussion, research and education about what the Gift Economy is, and what it could be. In just a few articles, this blog has jumped into Google’s top 20 sources for information on the Gift Economy. We need university courses on this subject, books and conferences and collaborative studies. What do you think? Could we make the Gift Economy work, the way that some dreamers a few centuries ago came up with the Market Economy and then invented money and other technologies to make it work? And if we could, could the Gift Economy be the key, the thin edge of the wedge to change everything, to save the world? |
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How does a “Gift Economy” deal with greed?
It seems that a Gift Economy is only going to work on a smaller scale, and that it must not involve crucial resources for survival, such as food.When one group is relying on the gift/generosity of their neighbor for survival (basic necessities, which in our society often involves money) that’s when the Gift Economy seems to fall apart. Hunter-gatherers shared food readily because there was no fear of starvation… there was plenty to go around. When one person or group has power over these basic necessities, they can use them to coerce others and manipulate themselves into having even more power.It seems that the Gift Economy has to function separately from the Market Economy, hierarchy, division of labor, and the dependency scheme of civilization. That’s my theory, at least. All of the gifts given must be somewhat superfluous — above and beyond the basic needs.There’s a book I recommend to you, Dave, if you haven’t already read it: A Theory of Power (free online). Particularly Chapter 9: Forward, to Rhizome about an alternative social structure to Hierarchy. Jeff Vail describes a rhizome trade network this way:
Zach: It renders it impotent via social rejection. Devin: This strikes me as a bit counter-intuitive. It is precisely the essentials of life that should be free, and the luxuries that (if you want them) you should be prepared to pay for. I’ll read more about Theory of Power (someone else recommended this to me). Self-sufficiency and the defeat of hierarchy are definitely required to make the Gift Economy work.