QotW4: Gift Economy: The Future Tense of "I Give" is "I Take."

The Golden Rule: Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.


Most of us would have been taught the ethic of reciprocity at some point in life. It encourages us to be giving, yet it also leaves us anticipating that we would get something good in return. A gift economy can be closely tied to the concept of the Golden Rule.

"A gift economy is an economic system in which the prevalent mode of exchange is for goods and services to be given without explicit agreement upon a quid pro quo (the Latin term for the concept of "a favor for a favor"). Typically, this occurs in a cultural context where there is an expectation either of reciprocation--in the form of goods or services of comparable value, or of political support, general loyalty, honor to the giver, etc.--or of the gift being passed on in some other manner" ("Gift Economy," 2007).

After I read this week's topic, I immediately thought of an interesting line that my former lecturer, Dr. Andrew Sachs, had told the class: "The future tense of I give is I take." He took this from a book by Robert Cialdini. Indeed, a gift economy is well fuelled by the concept of reciprocation, a fundamental principle of the gift economy. According to Robert Cialdini, the rule of reciprocation "says that we should try to repay, in kind, what another person has provided us" (2001). Now, let us look at the gift economy in greater depth.

What are the "gifts" in a gift economy?



The "gift" part of "gift economy" should not be taken literally (Matzan, 2004). On the contrary to our common perception of a gift, gifts in a gift economy need not be tangible; neither must it be bought using money. This is a reason why most of us who are actually involved in a gift economy are unaware that we are!

Some examples of gifts are: content, advice, information, recognition and compliments. In addition, gifts are "intangible rewards, such as reputation, anticipated reciprocity and self-esteem" (Veale, 2004).

As the focus of this course is on the Internet, it is important to note that online gift economies are more on digital goods. "The setting is a (1)network of (2)digital (3)information, and each of these three features drives important changes. It is a world of information rather than physical objects" (Kollock, 1999).

Gift economy vs. Capitalist economy

A Capitalist economy generally refers to an economic system where the means of production operate for profit and are privately owned. Plus, it usually involves the trading of capital goods, labor and money ("Capitalism," 2007).

After understanding the concept of a gift economy, it seems as though it operates contrastingly to a capitalist economy, one that most of us are involved in now. However, according to Jem Matzan, "The gift economy concept does not interfere with capitalism at all, despite the general misunderstanding and mythology that surrounds it" (2004).

If we look at it in a different light, Matzan has a point. What we mostly gain from a gift economy are valuable intangible rewards that cannot be bought using money from a capitalist economy (such as reputation and self-esteem). Through a gift economy, people can interact and help one another, be it directly or indirectly. Thus, these two economies provide us with different types of benefits.

In relation to Lewis Hyde's "The Gift: Imagination and the Erotic Life of Property," Richard Turner states that "[g]ift exchanges create bonds and a sense of worth, while commodity exchanges require no necessary connection between the parties, either before or after the event, and characteristically have specific value. Often, a gift exchange becomes a commodity exchange when the transaction reaches beyond the boundaries of the gift community" (1989).

A gift economy?

"The Internet is still a gift economy" (Phillips, 1997). Indeed, when we use the Internet, we are participating indirectly in a gift economy. However, let us look at it on a smaller scale.

Recently, I joined an online art community called "deviantART". It allows me to share and view art works with thousands of others around the world. Their database of art works range from digital art, photography and traditional art to comics and fan art. These files are uploaded by members who are willing to share and give others a chance to view them. This community has been around for nearly seven years.

(www.deviantart.com)

The website has forums where users share information and interact while some even recruit artists by posting notices in the "Job Offers" section. Members share their interest for art and allow others to view their works. As an individual member, you can view the works of others and add them to your "favorites" list or leave them a compliment on their main page. As you give away these positive remarks as intangible "gifts," others will tend to link back to you and return you with a "gift" too. This way, deviantART members help to promote each other’s works through reciprocity, the principle of a gift economy.

By giving other members comments and increasing their page's viewership, we increase their self-esteem and status in the online community. All these are done in anticipation that we, too, would benefit from it somehow. Sometimes, these intangible rewards can also lead to tangible rewards. Popular art works are being put up for sale as prints on the website too.

From what I have explained, it can be told that deviantART is an example of an online gift economy. The best thing about this online community is that it is free to join and express yourself. In addition, the site encourages members to "give" by providing the option of protecting their works with Creative Commons.

In summary, deviantART fulfills the characteristics of a gift economy as:
1. Members willingly upload and share their works/files (The act of giving).
2. There is no explicit agreement upon a favor for a favor.
3. Members are driven by the principle of reciprocation.
4. Intangible rewards can be gained by participating in the community.

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Ralph Waldo Emerson – “The gift, to be true, must be the flowing of the giver unto me, correspondent to my flowing unto him.”
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References:

Capitalism. (2007). In: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Retrieved February 8, 2007, from

http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Capitalism&oldid=106376748

Cialdini, R. (2001). Influence: science and practice (4th ed.). Boston, MA: Allyn and Bacon.


Gift Economy. (2007). In: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Retrieved February 7, 2007, from, http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Gift_economy&oldid=105681971


Kollock, P. (1999). The economies of online cooperation: Gifts and public goods in cyberspace. Retrieved February 7, 2007, from http://www.sscnet.ucla.edu/soc/faculty/kollock/papers/economies.htm


Matzan, J. (2004). The gift economy and free software. Retrieved February 7, 2007, from http://software.newsforge.com/software/04/06/04/142238.shtml?tid=150&tid=82


Phillips, E. (1997). Gift economy. Retrieved February 7, 2007, from http://www.rewired.com/97/0602.html


Turner, R. (1989). Lewis Hyde, the gift: Imagination and the erotic life of property. Retrieved February 8, 2007, from http://www.mla.org/ade/bulletin/N092/092054.htm


Veale, K. (2004). Internet gift economies. Retrieved February 7, 2007, from http://futurepositive.synearth.net/2004/02/04