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Customer Reviews:Average Customer Rating: A classic text for economic anthropology: There is no such thing as a "free gift". Mauss's "The Gift" is a classic text for economic anthropology and the discipline in general. Written in 1923, partially in response to Malinowski's findings about the Kula ring (discussed in "Argonauts of the Western Pacific" published in 1922), Mauss is questioning the idea that a "gift" can ever be given without the expectation of some sort of return. At the time this was a very new way of approaching economic analysis in societies that did not use some form of money, and this book continues to be influential in that context. A Slow Burner, but Sour Going Down There is a LOT not to like in this "profound and original book" (from the front jacket, quoting the foreword ?!?): There is literally no original research in a book claiming classic status within a original research intensive speciality (anthropology/sociology), the footnotes are longer then the text itself, the book itself is awkwardly written and the translation seems crude or inexact. A (New) Lens There's a lot of talk here and there about what really separates the "modern" from the "primitive". And with good reason. Mauss's "The Gift" has become one of those landmark books that has become a staple for anthropology and social theory; however, I think it deserves far more. If you can, for all 80 pgs of it, discard the notion that this is old-fashioned armchair ethnography, The Gift is an immensely enlightening read. Seriously. Key work of Anthropology Marcel Mauss' seminal work of ethnography reviews the practice of the 'potlatch' in a number of archaic societies throughout the world. His analysis and empirical data are far reaching and highly specific, drawing on a number of the finest researchers in the field (such as Malinowski). Mauss' observations present a picture of a highly complex system of reciprocity, a social contract so important and complex that it often results in competition and often warfare between cross-existing tribes. The ideas in this book are so easily accepted and integrated into our understanding of reciprocity by now that today they seem almost unoriginal. Although Mauss' conclusion that individuals ought to be expected to work, and that absolute reciprocity or 'communism' is dangerous are problematic views, 'The Gift' remains a cornerstone in the field. Gifts and giving People living in the modern world often have an impression of life being simpler, easier, and less complicated in primitive, tribal societies, especially those without money, credit cards, mortgage bills and other forms of financial exchange. Those who think so should read this book by the French anthropologist Marcel Mauss. | | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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