Bread and Roses: A Gift Economy
by
Sherill Hatch
“The
worker must have bread, but she must have roses too.” This labor slogan reminds
us that an economic system that devalues beauty, pleasure and art makes a false
distinction. We need new models which recognize that both bread and roses are
essential.
When
my daughter was four or five she announced one day, “We don’t really need
money. It’s not the best way to get the things we want.” I agreed, explaining
that many cultures use barter. She responded emphatically: “No, I don’t mean trading. The best way is for people to
just give each other things.” Despite
all my explanations about how things really work, she remained adamant that
gift-giving could be the basis for the whole economy.
Well,
I’ve recently discovered she may have been right. It turns out that the idea
that barter was humans’ original means of exchange, later replaced by money for
greater efficiency, is not at all supported by anthropology. Contrary to what
we’ve all learned in Economics 101, barter is relatively rare in
hunter-gatherer societies. Instead, these cultures often operate by a complex,
ritualized web of gift circulation. Though anthropologists differ in precisely
how to interpret the giving they’ve observed, it is clear that it’s not just
our familiar system minus the money.
I
first encountered these concepts in an inspiring book called Sacred Economics: Money, Gift, and Community
in an Age of Transition, by Charles Eisenstein. Here are some features of
the ancient systems that Eisenstein and others have called “gift economies”:
Material goods are not hoarded, but flow continuously—so current needs get met
and the good fortune of one becomes the good fortune of all. Gratitude for a
gift inspires more giving, either back to the giver or forward to another. No
one is excluded. People gain status by being publicly generous. There is no
distinction between commercial transactions and gifts. The reciprocal obligations the
participants incur help hold the society together.
What
would it be like to build new economies like this, founded on abundance and
connection rather than scarcity and separation? A surprising number of
individuals, groups and businesses embrace the gift economy concept—from free
and open-source software to donation-based health care clinics to the Occupy
movement. Sacred Economics offers
more examples. Many, including Eisenstein himself, ask the recipient of their
goods or services to pay whatever amount best represents the value received.
The receiver’s gratitude and ability to pay determine the return gift.
When
everything is seen as a gift, the distinction between bread and roses fades
away. And so does the division between those who can “afford” roses and those
who cannot. Both bread and roses are free to flow to whomever currently needs
and values them. I am taking steps in my own life to live in this gift-oriented
way. If you’d like to explore with me how we can pioneer this new/old kind of
economics, contact me through my blog at fulljoy.us.
Posted by Chris Hewitt
on 12:46 PM.
Filed under
Bread & Roses,
Feature
.
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