The world of the gift (Social ties)

In an age dominated by consumerism and government agencies, many people bel ieve that self-interest is the dominant motive in society. Gifts are seen a s, at best, irrelevant frills. The anthropologist Marcel Mauss, in his famo us exploration of the gift in 'primitive and archaic societies, showed that the essential aspect of the exchange of presents involved the establishmen t of a social tie that bound the parties together above and beyond any mate rial value of the objects exchanged. But still today, nothing can be initia ted of undertaken, can thrive or function, it it is not nourished by the gi ft. This, to begin at the beginning, is true of life itself, which,at least for the moment, is neither bought nor obtained by force but is purely and simply given, for the most part in the context of a family, whether traditi onal or unconventional.