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importance of studying the exchange of gifts
we gift out of self-interest and obligation; we want to increase our authority; it increases our self-esteem and power
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potlatch
- an indigenous giving ceremony, it's an example of the large scale givings between groups or societies
- it is an exchange between communities, not individuals
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three obligations
to give, to receive, to reciporcate
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meaning of obligations - to give
- in order to demonstrate some sort of power or authority or showing genuine generosity
- -obligation to share wealth, to redistribute the benefits of a potlatch
- >> way to demonstrate/ accrue authority, social esteem, status, power
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meaning of obligations - to receive
- shows gratitude
- not accepting lose face
- Not accepting = war, or admission of inferiority
- accept in order to not indicate that you are of a lower rank.
- the gift is part of the giver’s soul (to refuse gift= to cut off a social tie OR admit the inability to reciprocate the gift)
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meaning of obligations - to reciprocate
- receiver feels indebted to the giver
- the cycle of social life depends on people being in debt of others
- Counter-gift must be different for the cycle to continue
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*the cycle of gift giving, receiving, and reciprocating indicates...
a social hierarchy because the receiver always feels indebted to the gift giver. The gift giver has authority until the gift is reciprocated*
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total social fact
Gift exchange as a fundamental social structure that underlies a whole series of social institutions (economic, political, religious life, etc)
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social structure of gift exchanges
= credit comes first; money develops from credit as a technique that facilitate calculation and not the other way around
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Mauss turns the idea of gift giving to encompass not just individual behavior but...
how it reflects the dynamic of the collectivity
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