The Gift is a short book by the French sociologist
Marcel Mauss that is the foundation of social
theories of reciprocity and gift exchange.
Mauss's original piece was entitled Essai
sur le don. Forme et raison de l'échange
dans les sociétés archaïques ("An essay
on the gift: the form and reason of exchange
in archaic societies") and was originally
published in L'Année Sociologique in 1925.
The essay was later republished in French
in 1950 and translated into English in 1954
by Ian Cunnison, in 1990 by W. D. Halls, and
in 2016 by Jane I. Guyer.
== Argument ==
Mauss's essay focuses on the way that the
exchange of objects between groups builds
relationships between humans.
It analyzes the economic practices of various
so-called archaic societies and finds that
they have a common central practice centered
on reciprocal exchange. In them, he finds
evidence contrary to the presumptions of modern
Western societies about the history and nature
of exchange. He shows that early exchange
systems center around the obligations to give,
to receive, and, most importantly, to reciprocate.
They occur between groups, not only individuals,
and they are a crucial part of “total phenomena”
that work to build not just wealth and alliances
but social solidarity because “the gift”
pervades all aspects of the society. He uses
a comparative method, drawing upon published
secondary scholarship on peoples from around
the world, but especially the Pacific Northwest
(especially potlatch).
After examining the reciprocal gift-giving
practices of each, he finds in them common
features, despite some variation. From the
disparate evidence, he builds a case for a
foundation to human society based on collective
(vs. individual) exchange practices. In so
doing, he refutes the English tradition of
liberal thought, such as utilitarianism, as
distortions of human exchange practices. He
concludes by speculating that social welfare
programs may be recovering some aspects of
the morality of the gift within modern market
economies.
== Influence ==
The Gift has been very influential in anthropology,
where there is a large field of study devoted
to reciprocity and exchange. It has also influenced
philosophers, artists, and political activists,
including Georges Bataille, Jacques Derrida,
Jean Baudrillard, and more recently the work
of David Graeber and the British theologian
John Milbank.
Many today see Mauss's work as a guide to
how giving can promote a better way of living.
The gift-giving and exchange practices Mauss
described were often self-interested, but
at the same time had a concern for others;
the main point of the traditional gift is
that it furthers both of these human aspects
at the same time.
== See also ==
Gift economy
De Beneficiis
== References and sources ==
References
SourcesCannell, Fenella (2006) The anthropology
of Christianity, Introduction
== Further reading ==
Georges Bataille, The Accursed Share (New
York: Zone Books, 1988 [orig. pub. 1949]).
Claude Lévi-Strauss, Introduction to the
Work of Marcel Mauss (London: Routledge, 1987
[orig. pub. 1950]).
Jacques Derrida, Given Time 1: Counterfeit
Money (Chicago & London: University of Chicago
Press, 1992 [orig. pub. 1991]).
Jean Baudrillard, Symbolic Exchange and Death
(Sage Publications (CA), Oct 1, 1993 [orig.
pub. 1976]).
Lewis Hyde, The Gift: Imagination and the
Erotic Life of Property (New York: Vintage,
2007 [orig. pub. 1983]).
Bronisław Malinowski, Argonauts of the Western
Pacific (Available online, [orig. pub. 1922]).
== External links ==
http://www.anthrobase.com/Dic/eng/pers/mauss_marcel.htm
Link to English translation
Link to original text (in French)
