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3.57 AVERAGE
3.57 AVERAGE
This kind of made me feel creeped out about all gift giving and reciving. Mauss was optimistic about how the older laws and positivity of exchange could be returned to, that hasen't exactly happened. I would normally give this four stars, because the limited scope of the etymological section wasn't so great, but the legacy of this book is too epic for me to quibble about such things. As Mauss knew, others have followed him and gotten all that work done. Where to find it though?
I think I had a stroke while reading this cause wtf was that?!
slow-paced
'I spit the charmed ginger root and their mind turns. They lay down their spears, they receive us well.' Nothing better expresses how close together lie festival and warfare.
a win is a win...a win is a win (logging books i'm reading in school)
I feel like this guy wrote this book after getting a bad gift. The idea that society’s foundation is in the gift-exchanging spirit is really wholesome but I’m not convinced, and the examples don’t account for large-scale economies
First thing first. There's no such thing as free gift. Its literally an oxymoron. Every gift has to be returned in some specific ways, set up a perpetual cycle of exchanges within and between generations, at least in the simple societies.
This is my first time reading an explosive book at the foundation level of what economics really is and the role it plays in the lowest base functional unit in society. I've become too lazy these days to type it all out probably I'll save some of this for my paper works. Here some of the fragments of my understanding of the work.
This work is also one of the books that share a subtle philosophy of returning to the practices and culture of the so called, but mostly misunderstood, Primitive.
French Anthropologist Marcel Mauss did an extensive study on the gift economies of tribal communities spread over Polynesian, Melanesian, Andamanese, Australian, North Western American landscapes. The Gift economy is similar to the economy of capitalism in principle at the least where people as clans, tribes, work and toil followed by contributing giving way as gift, kula ring of redistribution, general reciprocity without negotiation or by means of ritual exchange. The common principle involved here is the idea of Adam Smith's self-interest but it also indicates some sort of disinterestedness in the communities that prevent them from accumulating more surplus for their own good. These exchanges were rather done as festivals, potlatches showcasing the simpler versions of conspicuous consumption and destruction (in case of sacrifices). The author sort of gives a general hypothesis backed by positivist approach the prehistorical times were marked by gift economy and its common influence were being observed in ancient Semitic norms, older and old roman laws, Vedas, Celtics, Gauls, Germanians et al.
In practical reality, the concept of gift economy is more than prevalent especially in Mainstream Cultures where it is an obligatory norm to socialise and give gift through means of money, material goods during family functions which would be reciprocated when the other's turn arrives.
In the way the work is approached in terms of critiquing the modern economy (despite the book being published in 1954), nothing felt more urgent than this following quote from the conclusions "We must not desire the citizen to be either too good or too individualistic nor too insensitive or too realist. Man must have a keen sense of awareness of himself, but also of others, and of the social reality and in moral matters, is there any other kind of reality?.. this moralitynis eternal; it is common to the most advanced societies to those of the immediate future and to the lowest imaginable forms of society."
Overview study also rejects the economic rationalism (way ahead of its time) also sets aside the theories of Marxism because of the very reason. "Homo Oeconomicus is not behind us but lies ahead, as does man of morality and duty, the man of science and reason."
Ko Maru kai atu; Ko Maru kai mai; ka ngohe ngohe meaning ‘Give as much as you take, all shall be very well' is a Māori proverb.
This is one of the enduring secrets of maintaining wisdom and solidarity in various societies, the author concludes.
This is my first time reading an explosive book at the foundation level of what economics really is and the role it plays in the lowest base functional unit in society. I've become too lazy these days to type it all out probably I'll save some of this for my paper works. Here some of the fragments of my understanding of the work.
This work is also one of the books that share a subtle philosophy of returning to the practices and culture of the so called, but mostly misunderstood, Primitive.
French Anthropologist Marcel Mauss did an extensive study on the gift economies of tribal communities spread over Polynesian, Melanesian, Andamanese, Australian, North Western American landscapes. The Gift economy is similar to the economy of capitalism in principle at the least where people as clans, tribes, work and toil followed by contributing giving way as gift, kula ring of redistribution, general reciprocity without negotiation or by means of ritual exchange. The common principle involved here is the idea of Adam Smith's self-interest but it also indicates some sort of disinterestedness in the communities that prevent them from accumulating more surplus for their own good. These exchanges were rather done as festivals, potlatches showcasing the simpler versions of conspicuous consumption and destruction (in case of sacrifices). The author sort of gives a general hypothesis backed by positivist approach the prehistorical times were marked by gift economy and its common influence were being observed in ancient Semitic norms, older and old roman laws, Vedas, Celtics, Gauls, Germanians et al.
In practical reality, the concept of gift economy is more than prevalent especially in Mainstream Cultures where it is an obligatory norm to socialise and give gift through means of money, material goods during family functions which would be reciprocated when the other's turn arrives.
In the way the work is approached in terms of critiquing the modern economy (despite the book being published in 1954), nothing felt more urgent than this following quote from the conclusions "We must not desire the citizen to be either too good or too individualistic nor too insensitive or too realist. Man must have a keen sense of awareness of himself, but also of others, and of the social reality and in moral matters, is there any other kind of reality?.. this moralitynis eternal; it is common to the most advanced societies to those of the immediate future and to the lowest imaginable forms of society."
Overview study also rejects the economic rationalism (way ahead of its time) also sets aside the theories of Marxism because of the very reason. "Homo Oeconomicus is not behind us but lies ahead, as does man of morality and duty, the man of science and reason."
Ko Maru kai atu; Ko Maru kai mai; ka ngohe ngohe meaning ‘Give as much as you take, all shall be very well' is a Māori proverb.
This is one of the enduring secrets of maintaining wisdom and solidarity in various societies, the author concludes.
I checked "The Gift" out of the library as preparation for reading David Graeber's "Debt." I am not an anthropologist but from what I've read, Mauss is a significant figure in twentieth century anthropology, and "The Gift" a classic. In it, Mauss describes "gift economies" as observed in Polynesian and Native American (Pacific Northwest) cultures. The iconic example of this is the potlatch (etymological origin of "potluck"), a ceremony in which different clans come together and the chiefs hold a status competition by vying for who can give away the most valuable presents--even sometimes escalating to a competition over the pure waste and destruction of valuable goods. I was very interested to read a detailed account of this, because the phrase "gift economy" tends to evoke (for me at least) a very idealistic image (e.g. people at Burning Man sharing things). In fact, the potlatch culture was extraordinarily competitive and, even more than modern capitalist society, was dominated by the "invidious comparisons" diagnosed by Thorstein Veblen.
Thus, I found it quite dissonant at the end of the book when, after many descriptive chapters, Mauss wrote a section about how we in modern Western society have a lot to learn from this kinder, gentler alternative! It made me wonder whether he had even read everything he had just written. I think it is valuable to understand and consider the wide diversity of alternative economic structures in human society, but to hold up the potlatch as some warm and fuzzy ideal seems pretty laughable.
The first part of the book, while interesting in content, was quite dry and academic; clearly not written for popular consumption. In all, for someone interested in the topic, I would recommend going straight to Graeber's "Debt" (which is informative and highly readable) and skipping the Mauss.
Thus, I found it quite dissonant at the end of the book when, after many descriptive chapters, Mauss wrote a section about how we in modern Western society have a lot to learn from this kinder, gentler alternative! It made me wonder whether he had even read everything he had just written. I think it is valuable to understand and consider the wide diversity of alternative economic structures in human society, but to hold up the potlatch as some warm and fuzzy ideal seems pretty laughable.
The first part of the book, while interesting in content, was quite dry and academic; clearly not written for popular consumption. In all, for someone interested in the topic, I would recommend going straight to Graeber's "Debt" (which is informative and highly readable) and skipping the Mauss.
informative
reflective
medium-paced