Part 1- Rethinking the Gift Economy

Leave it to Americans. Just on the other side of this extraordinary Holiday, with the explicit purpose to gather together and thank God that our cup is not only half full but truly running over? No sooner than the leftover turkey sandwiches have vanished down our gullets with a wash of Pinot Noir, even the very next day, in the wee hours of the morning, we are filling our shopping carts with more stuff–stuff that we never knew we needed in the first place–and using all available knees and elbows to get it. Gheesh.

Americans have never been shy about blatant consumerism. And Entrepreneurs have never been shy about grabbing for more and more Holiday sales. Sales are not a bad thing. But I am not sure we are aware of how much our consumer culture affects us, even as we desire to avoid materialism. Our culture thinks in terms of transactions and possessions and deals. This for that. Even in the Season of Giving. That is why it is called a cookie exchange. Deep down in my heart, I know that it is better to give than to receive. But I, for one, will not be leaving the cookie exchange without an equitable trade. It is my peanut butter for your macaroons, or I am not going home. I am not any better.

I am also not sure that our robust first-world economy is a leading indicator that we are an advanced society. We are lagging behind in the gift giving department, even as the cash registers ring. Oh, we may not lack in GDP, or in Dow Jones average. Our lack is in our very philosophy of giving. How could this be?

Recently I read the book “The Gift” by Lewis Hyde. I know this book has been around a while. Have you read it? I paraphrase Lewis’s description of the Gift Culture:

When the Puritans first landed in Massachusetts in 1764, the colonists noticed that the Natives had a very different idea about “things”–about ownership, and about possessions. The Colonists thought the natives had extremely poor manners and called them ‘Indian givers’.  Even today, this term is still used in a very negative way. But let’s look at the meaning a little closer.

An Englishman is invited into an Indian lodge. Wanting him to feel welcome, the host offers him a traditional pipe of tobacco. The pipe is an ethnic treasure with a hand carved bowl and stem, and has circulated among the tribe for more than one hundred years. It stays in each lodge for a time and eventually is given away to another tribesman.  In a display of politeness, the Indian gives the pipe to the honored guest at the end of the visit. The Englishman is elated, and makes plans to send the ancient pipe back to the British Museum! He sets it on his mantle for all to see and admire.

A little while later, the Indians come to his house for a visit. The translator explains that if he wants to show his goodwill, he should light up the pipe, give them all a smoke, and then give the pipe to his guest at the end of the visit. For keeps. The Englishman is enraged. He cannot imagine the mindset that would expect it back. But to the Indians, to retain the gift, would be to consume it in its entirety. The Indian would call the Englishman a ‘Capitalist’.

To the Indians, if something of value came into your possession, you had an obligation to share it. To do otherwise was immoral. They believed that something horrible would happen to you if you held onto it, as you were getting rich at someone else’s expense. They believed the only reason you were given something of value was to promote the good of the whole and to strengthen the social fabric of the entire community. The objects were never viewed as commodities, they were never used as a system of barter, and they were never given with regard to what they might get back. It was a system of reciprocity–not an economic system. The very word reciprocity contains the roots “re” and “pro”, meaning back and forth. The person who held an item of value was simply a trustee. The important thing in their culture was to keep giving back. The shared gift did not diminish with use. It was the asset that was not shared that was lost. Thus, the social use of the gift system far exceeded the practical use of the objects.

These same Englishmen would have never survived if Squanto charged them for his knowledge. Instead, he freely shared it, and they survived together through the harsh winter.

When I read these things, I had to question which group was the one that was truly uncultured.

What if we applied all this to business? Your customers are not just a transaction. They are people with lives that go way beyond the workplace. Not everything you do for your customer has to involve a monetary exchange. You have more to give them than just physical product or the service you have for sale. In fact, you have much more to give. Of course, no one thinks of themselves as gifted, but we all have talents and abilities we can share. A bit of knowledge here, a bit of wisdom there, some life lessons learned. Sometimes the biggest thing you can do for your customer is the simplest: offer them a smile or word of encouragement. You never know what kind of a day they have had, or how a simple thing like treating people with the dignity and respect– something that every human deserves–will affect their day. And indeed the health of your entire community.

The Gift Economy is a whole different kind of economy.  It gives a whole new meaning to the word rich. What glorious bit of business wisdom have you learned from another business mentor that was given to you freely? What gifts have been laid at your disposal? What have you received that you did not pay for? Who might need what you have? What if you joined your local Chamber for the good of the whole, and not just for personal profit?

What if the things we possess are only given to us so that we might give them away? 

Pay it forward.

In the end, it is not the one with the most toys that wins, but the one who has given them all away. No matter what you give, the perfect gift is always wrapped with Love. What can you share today?

To whom much is given, much will be required. Luke 12:48

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