Skip to main content

Gift economy trail of discussion

The conversation between two strangers arguing that a group offering a service shall organise themselves to make it possible for those who cannot pay to not have to pay.

M: I am not talking about individual offering a service. I am talking about group offering a service and charging for it. They have to organise themselves so not everyone pays by using a collection plate so people can remain anonymous. this is the way forward for a gift economy.

M: being an individual or a group does not change the fact that we have currently an incurrent charge to live in the current market economy and this includes paying rent, taxes and expenses. If as a group, we are delivering a service, we are already contributing in term of energy, money, time, the cost of the place, etc. As much as not being judgemental with what we receive in return, how many time do we have to send the collection plate around to make people feel that they have to share their gifts too and please note their gift does not have to be only monetary.

M: well there is another way to collect the gift, you have to be more creative in your collection mean by using the rainbow kit, a gift circle, donations at the entrance etc..

M: Do not get me wrong, it is what is happening already. What you are putting forward as solutions for collection is adopted by many communities. it does not change the fact that by design the cost incurred to pay for capital cost means that some will choose to contribute and some other will decide that they won't. Either way, there will be always someone who will feel that they are taken advantage of. to tame them down, we will say to them ''well this is part of the gift economy, this is because we are a compassionate community who give freely and please be grateful for all that is given to you and hush already''...

M: there will be always distrusting exchangers who are present, you have to educate them on what the gift economy is., the real issue is with the people who charge for events where the unemployed cannot come...they are cold and cruel.

M: the issue is not with the distrusting exchangers or the person who set prices, they are not cold or cruel, the issue is not with those who haven't got money or unemployed. the issue is that the buildings in which we are, the tools that we used, all the infrastructures that allow us to drink, eat, take a shower are all bound to go to entropy if not maintained. and unfortunately, in the market economy, a lot of it has a price tag. People care about their safety and being able to live in a stable world, they will engage with others to increase their resilience by exchanging gifts - skills knowledge products money etc. However, they always do mental accounting on the extent to which a relationship is fair, care of their physical and mental being and maintain their current environment...any signs of unfairness does create some politics for which a consensus need to be found.

Popular posts from this blog

Ambivalent feelings about staying or leaving

Do you want to stay in one place and be rooted to ground yourself in a specific environment? Do you want to be leaving and go to different places to elevate yourself? Can you do both at the same time? Yes you can do both, do not ever think that where you are is static, the place is constantly changing and it is within the details that you can find new meaning for oneself and if this is not enough, plan time in and go to come back different..

Jazzing our way towards a powerful community

The Tamarack Institute sent today an invitation to attend their ABCD Community of Practice session on Wednesday 29.09.21 . The session will centre around John McKnight, Co-founder, Asset-Based Community Development Institute and Senior Associate at the Kettering Foundation latest learning bulletin called ABCD, Jazz and the Structure of Powerful Communities. In the learning, he present the local innovations which occured in neighbourhood over the pandemic though dispersed actors and then go on to introduce the invisible neighbourhood structure which enable innovative citizenships to emerge. The three elements that creates this specific context are: 1. Communality - the place, the desire tot celebrate, entertain and enjoy 2. Individual Capacities - Every neighbour has the belief that they have special gifts, talents or knowledge to share 3. Connectivity - the consideration that all local capacities are latent and what brings them to life is connectivity. Through connections the capacitie...

How my relationship with capitalism is impacting my carbon footprint?

Published on Footpaths Leicester Capitalism is an economic and political system in which a country's trade and industry are controlled by private owners for profit, rather than by the state. My carbon footprint is the amount of carbon dioxide released into the atmosphere as a result of my activities. My activities serve capitalism. They serve private owners for profit at the expense of natural resources and human beings. I am trapped and enslaved by capitalism, this is my relationship with it and it impacts dearly on my carbon footprint but also on my wellbeing and sense of belonginess. I am striving to strip myself away from capitalism. I refused to work for large corporate organisations. I refuse to consume excessively. I shop in charity shops, buy in bulk from the Wholefood Coop in Leicester, cycle to work, do not travel by plane. I try to save for some solar panels and an electric car, I try to repair what I own and try to engage others in changing behaviour through campaigning...