The Gift Economy

When something passes from one person to another, it does so in one of two ways. Either it’s a transaction or it’s a gift.

A transaction is what happens when we buy something online, or take out a bank loan, or plunk down some Monopoly money to buy Park Place. Everytime you use a social media site, your attention and information are being monetized and sold to the highest bidder. You lose something in exchange for gaining something else. Sometimes both parties get what they want out of the deal, and sometimes someone gets the short end of the stick, but the value of what you acquire always comes from your consuming or taking possession of it.

By contrast, when you give a gift it doesn’t require a reciprocal gift in return. Its value doesn’t come from the transfer of possession, but from the strengthening of the bond between the giver and the receiver. And that value isn’t gained by one person at the expense of another--it’s created and shared by both, in the form of generosity and gratitude.

A transactional economy implies scarcity. People get as much as they can for as little as possible. They accumulate value in order to possess it. 

A gift economy implies abundance. People share what they have and prosper from the connection that sharing creates.

The tricky thing about gifts is that they can actually contain hidden transactions in disguise. That’s what happens when there are strings attached--unstated or implied expectations of reciprocation or debt. These are the exchanges that stress relationships rather than strengthen them. 

It’s worth asking ourselves what gifts we have to give. What can we share that will strengthen the connections around us? Can we let go with no strings attached? What value can we create by giving things away?