Free gifts and positional gifts

Beyond exchangism

Datos Bibliográficos

ID2398084
AutoresDave Elder-Va (0000-0002-0789-660X, Loughborough University, autor de correspondencia), Dave Elder-Vass (Loughborough University, Loughborough, UK)
Año2015
Volumen18
Número4
Páginas451-468
Fecha de publicación2015-11-01
Peer ReviewedSí
Open AccessSí
TipoARTICLE
RevistaEuropean Journal of Social Theory (JOURNAL)
Identificadores de la revistaISSN: 1368-4310 • E-ISSN: 1461-7137
EditorialSAGE Publishing (PUBLISHER • US)
DOI10.1177/1368431014566562
OpenAlexW2029270646
IdiomaEN
Citas recibidas24
Referencias citadas29

Social theories of giving have often been shaped by anthropological accounts that present it as a form of pre-market reciprocal exchange, yet this exchangist discourse obscures important contemporary giving practices. This article discusses two types of giving that confound the exchangist model: (1) sharing practices within the family; and (2) free gifts to strangers. Once we reject understandings of giving derived from analyses of non-modern economies, it is possible to see that the gift economy is not a rare survival but rather is a central element of contemporary society and indeed the contemporary economy. The task for social theory is not to anachronize giving but to make sense of the variety and complexity of actual contemporary giving practices. This article offers the categories of free and positional gifts as a contribution to this analysis

Contemporary society · Economics · Element (criminal law · Epistemology · Gift giving · Political science · Positive economics · Reciprocal · Social science · Sociology · Variety (cybernetics · Anthropological Studies and Insights · Sharing Economy and Platforms · Law