Wednesday, February 7, 2007

QOTW4: An Eye for An Eye, Tit for Tat and All That....


Thoughout time, people have been giving and receiving. More importantly, receiving. Altruism has long since been a thing of the past. No matter how much you would deny it, we all expect something in return when we give. It is like with some department stores' policy of exhange. The exchanged good should be of equal or higher value than the good to be exhanged.

"A gift is a tranfer of a good without explicit specifications of a quid pro quo... Usually, a gift entails reciprocity: the giver expects something in return for the gift given."
(Klamer, 2003)

What is a "Gift Economy"?

A gift economy is mainly an economic system that employs a mode of exchange of goods and services without a specific agreement upon reciprocity. This sort of economic system is more prevalent in cultural contexts where there is an expectation for reciprocity. (Gift economy, 2007) Reciprocity may not be expected to come immediately, but it certainly is not being overlooked. Say, for example, you buy a birthday present for someone, you would not expect a gift in return but rather, you would expect a gift on your own birthday.

When there is an expectation of reciprocity, the conditions remain undetermined and ambiguous. In that, when you expect something in return for your gift, you would not discuss the what, when and how. (Klamer, 2003)

What motivates people to give?

The following are most likely what drives people to give:

1.Reciprocity

Perhaps the most anticipated factor that motivates people to give. Gifts are everywhere, bosses sometimes give gifts, however, employees would be obligated to return the favor; in this case, to work longer hours. Or it could be the other way round, where employees work longer hours in hope of some unspecified return. (Klamer, 2003)

2.Reputation

The willingness to help others can all work to increase one's prestige in a community. Also, the desire for prestige is another main motivating factor of an individual's contributions. (Kollock, 1999) People tend to give to impress. We can see that from a certain charity organization(which shall not be named), where they throw lavish dinner parties in honor of the high rollers who donate large sums of money to the organization.

3.Sense of Efficacy

The feeling an individual has that makes them feel that they have some effect on the environment around them. (Kollock, 1999) The argument here is that even the most altuistic of people expects something in return. (Klamer, 2003) Like the late Mother Theresa who helped the poor in India, she too would expect the end of poverty or salvation for the people she helped. Maybe.

Examples of the Gift Economy

Examples of the gift economy is right here in multicultural Singapore. Firstly, chinese weddings. Here in Singapore, when the chinese get married, they would throw a dinner party at a hotel or restaurant for their friends and family. And in return for a meal, friends and family of couple are expected to give the newlyweds money. The amount of money given should be of equal or of a higher value of the cost per head at each table. Strangely enough, people would know exactly how much to give so as not to "lose face" (see Reputation)

Another example would be that of Chinese New Year. We wouldn't be discussing money here but rather the simple exchange of oranges. When you visit a chinese home on this festive occasion, you are expected to bring a pair of oranges to signifiy good luck and fortune. You are then expected to be returned a pair of oranges when you leave to signify the generousity of the family.

Traditions aside, information is also seen as commodity in a gift economy system. One such application of sharing of free information is Forums. Forums are an interactive online bullutin board where people share information. It is seen as free sharing, however, when people post information, they expect information back as an exchange, it may not be inmmediate, however, when the need arises, they would expect help back in return from the forum. Also, people who post information gain a reputation, whether good or bad, from the site. (see Reputation)

For programmers, there are instances where games can be downloaded free of the internet. In this case, what is in it for the programmers? Well, its that sense that they can showcase their work. (again, see Reputation) One such game is Maple Story, it is free for download, however, to be more advanced in the game, one would have to purchase game cards that would translate into the game's currency in order to buy more exclusive and more powerful weapons. So technically, the game is not free in its entirety, there still are benefits involved for the programmers. In this case, money.


Conclusion

To end, though the term "Gift Economy" is about altruistic sharing, we are merely seeing only the tip of the iceberg. People have their own self interests at heart, at best. The kind of contributions are always sensitive to the costs and benefits they entail. (Kollock, 1999) I would like to end this discussion with a quote from Lewis Hyde, author of the book, "The Gift: Imagination and the Erotic Life of Property".

"...Whatever we have been given is supposed to be given away, not kept. Or, if it is kept, something of similar value should move in its stead..."
Lewis Hyde

References:

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

Klamer, A. (2003). Gift Economy. A Handbook of Cultural Economics, 243-247. Retreived on February 7, 2007 from http://www.altruists.org/static/files/Gift%20Economy%20%28Arjo%20Klamer%29.pdf

Kollock, P. (1999). The Economies of Online Cooperation: Gifts and Public Goods in Cyberspace. Retreived on February 7, 2007 from http://www.sscnet.ucla.edu/soc/faculty/kollock/papers/economies.htm

2 comments:

Kevin said...

Jonathan: While gift economies and family traditions go hand in hand, I need you to find more solid examples of such scenarios.

For example, Melvin's "Punter's World" is good because even though everyone's in it for self-gain ($$$), they still cooperate online so everyone benefits.

Since you're ahead of the deadline, I'll give you a chance to find more solid examples of gift economies. There are plenty that exist online and you might be aware of it. Some classmates have already given great examples.

Kevin said...

Orange exchanges during CNY works (though it's too obvious for "gifting"), forums work, but Maple Story might not work since it's a typical business practice to give out software, then charge for its use later on.

If Maple Story were open-source (which I doubt), then the culture of developers working on it together and "giving it away" might have helped your cause. No dice there. :(

Because you worked on it a second time round, organized the gift economy points neatly, but could have given a more solid example, I'm still giving you the full grade for effort. Just try to get what this gift economy idea is about and ask in class if still unsure.