Reddit reviews The Gift: Forms and Functions of Exchange in Archaic Societies
We found 1 Reddit comments about The Gift: Forms and Functions of Exchange in Archaic Societies. Here are the top ones, ranked by their Reddit score.
Used Book in Good Condition
Wikipedia on Marcel Mauss and 'The Gift':
> Marcel Mauss (10 May 1872 – 10 February 1950) was a French sociologist. The nephew of Émile Durkheim, Mauss' academic work traversed the boundaries between sociology and anthropology.
> Today, he is perhaps better recognised for his influence on the latter discipline; particularly with respect to his analyses of topics such as magic, sacrifice and gift exchange in different cultures around the world. Mauss had a significant influence upon the founder of structural anthropology, Claude Lévi-Strauss. His most famous book is The Gift (1923).
> The book is the foundation of social theories of reciprocity and gift exchange. [In it, Mauss] 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.
> 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 and more recently the work of David Graeber.
More on Amazon