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Original Title:	Essai sur le don: forme et raison de l'échange dans les sociétés archaïques
ISBN:	039332043X (ISBN13: 9780393320435)
Edition Language:	English

The Gift: The Form and Reason for Exchange in Archaic Societies

Marcel Mauss

Paperback | Pages: 184 pages

Rating: 3.93 | 2758 Users | 110 Reviews

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Title	:	The Gift: The Form and Reason for Exchange in Archaic Societies
Author	:	Marcel Mauss
Book Format	:	Paperback
Book Edition	:	Special Edition
Pages	:	Pages: 184 pages
Published	:	August 17th 2000 by W. W. Norton Company (first published 1923)
Categories	:	Anthropology. Nonfiction. Sociology. History. Philosophy. Economics. Theory

Rendition Concering Books The Gift: The Form and Reason for Exchange in Archaic Societies

A brilliant example of the comparative method,The Gift presents the first systematic study of the custom—widespread in primitive societies from ancient Rome to present-day Melanesia—of exchanging gifts. The gift is a perfect example of what Mauss calls a total social phenomenon, since it involves legal, economic, moral, religious, aesthetic, and other dimensions. He sees the gift exchange as related to individuals and groups as much as to the objects themselves, and his analysis calls into question the social conventions and economic systems that had been taken for granted for so many years. In a modern translation, introduced by distinguished anthropologist Mary Douglas, The Gift is essential reading for students of social anthropology and sociology.

Rating About Books The Gift: The Form and Reason for Exchange in Archaic Societies

Ratings: 3.93 From 2758 Users | 110 Reviews

Critique About Books The Gift: The Form and Reason for Exchange in Archaic Societies

Although short, it is not the easiest read since there are a lot of arcane foreign words to keep track of. The last chapter is highly speculative and as he says he is "just putting forward subjects for inquiry" though still of interest as he sees modern social issues from a very different perspective. In fact, based on quotes like the one below, I've decided to skip the historian Niall Ferguson's account and read about the history of money as seen from an anthropologist's viewpoint. The Gift was

Astonishing yet its conclusions are lazy.

A seasonal reading. Mauss draws on contemporary anthropological data and some historical legal material to conclude there is no such thing as a pure gift, and that this is not a bad thing. Interesting implications for charitable giving.

It is a good study of how exchanging gifts among individuals of s society succeeds in making their place in this very society , how this fact of exchanges responds in creating certain links that create landcape in the horizon of the given society. Because gift exchange becomes a norm and throws light on relations with these individuals and their acceptance and life among this group and yjeir future prosperity. Interesting. Highly recommended for ancient literature and more modern one that puts

I found the premise of this interesting, but ultimately found the style quite oppressive. I may need to return to this as I find the subject of obligatory status based gift exchange extremely interesting, and the potential links into charity are fascinating.

Informative book that tells you how the concept of money got started. Before Rome, there was trade and an honor code. After Rome, there was money. So much for good faith. It all became about "show me the money, dawg."

A friend recommended this book to me after I published The Mind Share Market. Since ancient societies people have used informal barter systems, highlighting that regardless of the specific culture there is a sense of moral transactions.