Politics of the Gift: Towards a Convivial Society (Alternatives to Capitalism in the 21st Century)

At the heart of capitalism lies the idea of “homo economicus”: an ever-rational human being motivated by self-interest which arguably leads societies to economic prosperity. But in fact capitalism has brought humanity into a deep social and ecological crisis. Drawing on French sociologist Marcel Mauss’ influential theory of gift giving, Frank Adloff shatters this fallacy to show mutual trust is the only glue that holds societies together. People are giving beings and they can cooperate for the benefit of all when the logic of maximizing utility in capitalism is broken which leads to an exploitation of people and nature. Proposing the concept of “homo donator” and acknowledging the role of women, nature and workers in the Global South in transforming society, this book proposes a politics of gift giving and conviviality, (from Latin con-vivere: living together), for global and environmental justice as an alternative to the pursuit of profit, growth and consumption. Front Cover Series page Politics of the Gift: Towards a Convivial Society Copyright information Table of contents Introduction: From Capitalism’s Crises to a Convivial Society Part I An Anthropology of Giving 1 Self-interest, Altruism, and the Gift Exchange and norms Utilitarian approaches Altruism or social capital? 2 Mauss’ Gift Asymmetry, the agonistic, and the non-agonistic gift 3 Homo Donator: A Different Anthropology A pragmatist model of action and emotion Embodied primary and secondary intersubjectivity in early childhood Prosocial primates? The will to cooperate Part II Society’s Gifts 4 Locating the Gift in Society Ordinary vs. extraordinary gifts Miso/meso/macro: where is the gift located? Motivations The gift as a medium of symbolic communication 5 The Gift between Socialism and Capitalism Mauss, the socialist Beyond capitalism: solidarity economy and post-growth 6 Commodities, Values, Money, Gifts Gifts, goods, and values Mauss and money Part III Crossing the Borders 7 Science and Technology, Nature and Conviviality Science and instrumentality Naturalism, culturalism, and other worldviews A new conception of nature, science, and technology? 8 Gifts of Nature A new conception of matter and life Gifts, values, conviviality Us and Gaia: conflict or alliance? 9 Civil Society, Conviviality, Utopia Gift and civil society Convivial practices Conviviality: an analytical and normative model Real utopias of conviviality Part IV Worlds of Conviviality 10 Aesthetic Freedom, or The Gift of Art Theoretizations Reconciling art and life? 11 Pluriversalism: Towards a European and Global Politics of Conviviality Colonialism and postcolonialism From universalism to pluriversalism Beyond “development” Quo vadis, Europe? Conclusion Notes References Index Back Cover At the heart of capitalism lies the idea of ‘homo economicus’: an ever-rational human being motivated by self-interest which arguably leads societies to economic prosperity. Drawing on French sociologist Marcel Mauss' influential theory of ‘the gift’, Frank Adloff shatters this fallacy to show mutual trust is the only glue that holds societies together; people are giving beings and they can cooperate for the benefit of all when the logic of maximizing personal gain in capitalism is broken. Acknowledging the role of women, nature, and workers in the Global South in transforming society, this book proposes a politics of conviviality, (from the Latin con-vivere: living together) for global and environmental justice as an alternative to the pursuit of profit, growth, and consumption. Drawing on French sociologist Marcel Mauss' influential theory of 'the gift', this book shows that trust is the only glue that holds societies together, and people are giving beings and they who can cooperate for the benefit of all when the logic of maximizing utility personal gain in capitalism is broken.