Encyclopedia, Difference between revisions of "Marcel Mauss" - New World

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'''Marcel Mauss''' ([[May 10]], [[1872]]- [[February 10]], [[1950]]) was a [[France|French]] [[sociologist]] best known for his role in elaborating on and securing the legacy of his uncle, [[Émile Durkheim]] and the [[Annee Sociologique]]. His most famous work is ''[[The Gift (book)|the Gift]]'', on reciprocity and gift economies among "uncivilized peoples".
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'''Marcel Mauss''' (born May 10, 1872 – died February 10, 1950) was a [[France|French]] [[sociology|sociologist]] best known for his role in elaborating on and securing the legacy of his uncle, [[Émile Durkheim]] and the [[Annee Sociologique]]. His pioneering work on [[reciprocity]] and [[gift economies]] in “primitive” cultures make him, considered by many, the father of modern Franch anthropology.  
  
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__TOC__
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==Life==
  
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==Background==
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'''Marcel Mauss''' was born in 1872 in Epinal, [[France]], into an Orthodox [[Jewish]] family. His famous uncle, [[Emile Durkheim]] influenced his interest for [[philosophy]], and Mauss entered the University of Bordeaux where Durkheim was a philosophy professor. Mauss studied there under [[Alfred Espinas]] and [[Octave Hamelin]]. Although he never received a formal degree, in 1895 he became ''Agrégé de Philosophie'', passing teaching exam in philosophy. Instead of taking the usual route of teaching at a [[lycee]], Mauss moved to [[Paris]] and took up the study of [[comparative religion]], particularly [[Sanskrit]]. From 1897 to 1898 he took a study trip to Oxford, England, where he met [[Edward Tylor]], by many considered the father of anthropology. Mauss’s first publication in 1896 marked the beginning of a prolific career that would produce several landmarks in the sociological literature.  
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Mauss was born in [[Epinal]] to a [[Jewish]] family, and studied philosophy at [[Bordeaux]], where Émile Durkheim was teaching at the time and [[agregation|agregated]] in 1893. Instead of taking the usual route of teaching at a [[lycee]], however, Mauss moved to [[Paris]] and took up the study of [[comparative religion]] and particularly [[Sanskrit]]. His first publication in [[1896]] marked the beginning of a prolific career that would produce several landmarks in the sociological literature.
 
  
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Like many members of [[Annee Sociologique]] Mauss was attracted to [[socialism]], particularly that espoused by [[Jean Jaures]]. He was particularly active in the events of the [[Dreyfus affair]] and towards the end of the century he helped edit such left-wing papers ''[[le Populaire]]'', ''[[l'Humanite]]'' and ''[[le Mouvement Socialiste]]'', the last in collaboration with [[Georges Sorel]].
+
In 1900 Mauss joined the faculty of the École Pratique des Hautes Études at the [[University of Paris]]. He took up his first important position as a chair in 'History of religion and uncivilized peoples' in 1902, succeeding famous professor Leon Marillier. It was at this time that he began drawing more and more on ethnography, and his work began increasingly to look like what we would today call [[anthropology]]. Mauss continued to teach this course at the University of Paris until 1930, and after 1930 he taught the same course at the College de France.  
  
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Mauss took up a chair in the 'history of religion and uncivilized peoples' at the ''[[Ecole Pratique des Hautes Etudes]]'' in [[1901]]. It was at this time that he began drawing more and more on ethnography, and his work began increasingly to look like what we would today call [[anthropology]].
+
One thing made Mauss distinctive from other scholars of his time. Unlike others who mostly spent time on theoretical knowledge, Mauss was rather practical and socially active. He was a member of [[Annee Sociologique]], and as such was attracted to [[socialism]], particularly that espoused by [[Jean Jaures]]. Mauss was active in the events of the [[Dreyfus affair]] - supporting [[Emile Zola]] - and towards the end of the century he helped edit such left-wing papers as ''[[le Populaire]]'', ''[[l'Humanite]]'' and ''[[le Mouvement Socialiste]]'', the last in collaboration with [[Georges Sorel]]. As a scholar Mauss always remained socially active, never losing sight of reality around him.  
  
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The years of [[World War I]] were absolutely devastating for Mauss. Many of his friends and colleagues died in the war, and Durkheim died shortly before its end. The postwar years were also difficult politically for Mauss. Durkheim had made changes to school curriculums across France, and after his death a backlash against his students began. Like many other followers of Durkheim, Mauss took refuge in administration, securing Durkheim's legacy by founding institutions such as ''l'Institut Français de Sociologie'' (1924) and ''l'Institut d'Ethnologie'' in [[1926]]. In [[1931]] he took up the chair of Sociology at the [[College de France]]. He actively fought against [[anti-semitism]] and racial politics both before and after [[WWII]]. He died in 1950.
+
The years of [[World War I]] were absolutely devastating for Mauss. Many of his friends and colleagues died in the war, including Durkheim’s son. Durkheim died of grief shortly thereafter, and Mauss was left practically alone to continue his legacy. The postwar years proved politically difficult for Mauss. Durkheim had previously made changes to school curriculums across France, and after his death a backlash against his students began. Like many other followers of Durkheim, Mauss took refuge in administration, securing Durkheim's legacy by founding institutions such as ''l'Institut Français de Sociologie'' in 1924 and ''l'Institut d'Ethnologie'' in 1926. In 1931 he took up the chair of Sociology at the [[College de France]]. He actively fought against [[anti-semitism]] and racial politics both before and after [[World War II|WWII]]. He died in 1950.
  
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==Theoretical Views==
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==Work==
  
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In his classic work ''[[The Gift (book)|the Gift]]'', Mauss argued that gifts are never "free". Rather, human history is full of examples that gifts give rise to reciprocal exchange. The famous question that drove his inquiry into the anthropology of the gift was: "What power resides in the object given that causes its recipient to pay it back?" (1990:3). The answer is simple: the gift is a "total prestation", imbued with "spiritual mechanisms", engaging the honour of both giver and receiver (the term "total prestation" or "[[total social fact]]" (''fait social total'') was coined by his student [[Maurice Leenhardt]] after Durkheim's ''social fact''). Such transactions transcend the divisions between the spiritual and the material in a way that according to Mauss is almost "magical". The giver does not merely give an object but also part of himself, for the object is indissolubly tied to the giver: "the objects are never completely separated from the men who exchange them" (1990:31). Because of this bond between giver and gift, the act of giving creates a social bond with an obligation to reciprocate on part of the recipient. To not reciprocate means to lose honour and status, but the spiritual implications can be even worse: in [[Polynesia]], failure to reciprocate means to lose ''[[mana]]'', one's spiritual source of authority and wealth. Mauss distinguished between three obligations: giving - the necessary initial step for the creation and maintenance of social relationships; receiving, for to refuse to receive is to reject the social bond; and reciprocating in order to demonstrate one's own liberality, honour and wealth.
+
In his classic work ''The Gift'', Mauss argued that gifts are never "free". Rather, human history is full of examples that gifts give rise to reciprocal exchange. The famous question that drove his inquiry into the anthropology of the gift was: "What power resides in the object given that causes its recipient to pay it back?" The answer, according to Mauss, was simple: the gift is a "total prestation", imbued with "spiritual mechanisms", engaging the honor of both giver and receiver (the term "total prestation" or "total social fact" (in French ''fait social total'') was coined by his student Maurice Leenhardt (after Durkheim's ''social fact''). Such transactions transcend the divisions between the spiritual and the material in a way that according to Mauss is almost "magical". The giver does not merely give an object, but also part of himself, for the object is indissolubly tied to the giver: "the objects are never completely separated from the men who exchange them". Because of this bond between giver and gift, the act of giving creates a social bond with an obligation to reciprocate on part of the recipient. To not reciprocate means to lose honor and status, but the spiritual implications can be even worse. In [[Polynesia]], failure to reciprocate means to lose ''[[mana]]'', one's spiritual source of authority and wealth. Mauss distinguished between three obligations: giving - the necessary initial step for the creation and maintenance of social relationships; receiving, for to refuse to receive is to reject the social bond; and reciprocating in order to demonstrate one's own liberality, honor and wealth.
  
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An important notion in Mauss' conceptualisation of gift exchange is what Gregory (1982, 1997) refers to as "inalienability". In a commodity economy there is a strong distinction between objects and persons through the notion of private property. Objects are sold, meaning that the ownership rights are fully transferred to the new owner. The object has thereby become "alienated" from its original owner. In a gift economy, however, the objects that are given are inalienated from the givers; they are "loaned rather than sold and ceded". It is the fact that the identity of the giver is invariably bound up with the object given that causes the gift to have a power which compels the recipient to reciprocate. Because gifts are inalienable they must be returned; the act of giving creates a gift-debt that has to be repaid. Gift exchange therefore leads to a mutual interdependence between giver and receiver. According to Mauss, the "free" gift that is not returned is a contradiction because it cannot create social ties. Following the Durkheimian quest for understanding social cohesion through the concept of solidarity, Mauss' argument is that solidarity is achieved through the social bonds created by gift exchange.
+
An important notion in Mauss' conceptualization of gift exchange is what Gregory (1982, 1997) refers to as "inalienability". In a commodity economy there is a strong distinction between objects and persons through the notion of private property. Objects are sold, meaning that the ownership rights are fully transferred to the new owner. The object has thereby become "alienated" from its original owner. In a gift economy, however, the objects that are given are inalienated from the givers; they are "loaned rather than sold and ceded". It is the fact that the identity of the giver is invariably bound up with the object given that causes the gift to have a power, which compels the recipient to reciprocate. Because gifts are inalienable they must be returned; the act of giving creates a gift-debt that has to be repaid. Gift exchange therefore leads to a mutual interdependence between giver and receiver. According to Mauss, the "free" gift that is not returned is a contradiction because it cannot create social ties. Following the Durkheimian quest for understanding social cohesion through the concept of solidarity, Mauss' argument is that solidarity is achieved through the social bonds created by gift exchange.
  
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==Critiques==
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===Critique===
  
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Mauss' views on the nature of gift exchange have not been without their critics. Testart (1998) for example argues that there are "free" gifts, such as passers-by giving money to beggars in e.g. a large Western city. Donor and receiver do not know each other and are unlikely to ever meet again. In this context, the donation certainly creates no obligation on the side of the beggar to reciprocate; neither the donor nor the beggar have such an expectation. Moreover, the transaction does not establish a relationship between the two, much less a mutual interdependence . Testart also suggests that there are different kinds of obligations: a) feelings of obligation, e.g. created by having been invited for dinner and having a feeling that one should reciprocate; b) social obligations, meaning that the social context obliges one to reciprocate, and that a failure to do so would not only affect one's relationship with the giver but also affect one's reputation in general; and c) legal obligations, as established through a legal contract. Testard argues that only the latter can actually be enforced. He feels that Mauss overstated the magnitude of the obligation created by social pressures, particularly in his description of the potlatch amongst North American Indians.  
+
Mauss' views on the nature of gift exchange have not been without their critics. Testart (1998) for example argues that there are "free" gifts, such as passers-by giving money to beggars in e.g. a large Western city. Donor and receiver do not know each other and are unlikely to ever meet again. In this context, the donation certainly creates no obligation on the side of the beggar to reciprocate; neither the donor nor the beggar have such an expectation. Moreover, the transaction does not establish a relationship between the two, much less a mutual interdependence . In addition to that, there are different kinds of obligations: a) feelings of obligation, e.g. created by having been invited for dinner and having a feeling that one should reciprocate; b) social obligations, meaning that the social context obliges one to reciprocate, and that a failure to do so would not only affect one's relationship with the giver but also affect one's reputation in general; and c) legal obligations, as established through a legal contract. It can be argued that only the latter can actually be enforced. Mauss’s critics therefore claim that he overstated the magnitude of the obligation created by social pressures.
  
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Another example of a non-reciprocal "free" gift is provided by Laidlaw (2000). He describes the social context of Indian [[Jain]] renouncers, a group of itinerant celibate renouncers living an ascetic life of spiritual purification and salvation. The principle of non-violence influences the diet of Jain renouncers and compels them to avoid preparing food as this could potentially involve violence against microscopic organisms. Since Jain renouncers do not work, they rely on food donations from lay families within the Jain community. However, the former must not appear to be having any wants or desires, and only very hesitantly and apologetically receive the food prepared by the latter. Laidlaw describes how the renouncers produce litanies of refusal when receiving the food and never show thankfulness or appreciation for it. In order not to appear as beggars, they visit families at random, attempting not to create relationships with a family by returning there regularly. What is given is not considered a gift by either donors or receivers, and since appearing as having any wants would spoil the Jain renouncer's spiritual purity there absolutely must not be anything given in return. Consequently, what Jain renouncers receive is supposed to be a spontaneous free gift without any strings attached, and the elaborate culturally constructed process surrounding this procedure is meant to ensure that this is what happens.  
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==Legacy==
 +
 
 +
While Mauss is known for several of his own works - most notably his masterpiece ''Essai sur le Don'' (The Gift]) - many of his best works were done in collaboration with members of the [[Annee Sociologique]] - [[Émile Durkheim]] (''Primitive Classification''), [[Henri Hubert]] (''General Theory of Magic'' and ''Essay on the Nature and Function of Sacrifice'', and others. Mauss used to work on several different things simultaneously, but unfortunately many of them he had never finished (on prayer, on nationalism, on the origins of money, etc.)
 +
 
 +
Like many prominent French academics, Mauss did not train a great number of students. Nonetheless, many anthropologists claim to have followed in his footsteps, most notably [[Claude Lévi-Strauss]]. Mauss’s essay ''The Gift'' became the origin of anthropological studies of [[reciprocity]]. His analysis of the [[Potlatch]] has been used by many interested in [[gift economy|gift economies]] and [[Open Source]] software, although this latter use sometimes differs from Mauss's original formulation.
  
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In his argumentation, Laidlaw employs [[Derrida]]'s four criteria for a "free gift":
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== Bibliography ==
  
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* There is no reciprocity
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* Mauss, Marcel. 1979. ''Sociology and psychology: Essays''. Routledge and K. Paul. ISBN 0710088779
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* The recipient must not recognise the gift as a gift or himself as the recipient of a gift
 
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* The donor must not recognise the gift, either
 
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* The thing itself cannot appear as a "gift"
 
  
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Laidlaw argues that food donations received by Jain renouncers fulfil all four criteria. They are a non-reciprocated free gift, although they aren't a very altruistic one since such donations are the "paradigmatic religious good deed" (''punya''), and the local lay families are very eager to make them regularly.  
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* Mauss, M. 1985. (original work from 1950). ''Sociologie et anthropologie''. PUF. ISBN 2130390897
  
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Laidlaw's example poses a further challenge to Mauss' definition of the gift. The gift itself is alienated from the original owner in two ways: first, it is given without any expectation to receive it or an equivalent object in return; second, what is given is not of permanence. Cooking something for another person may or may not create obligations, but since the object given is necessarily consumed in the process it becomes questionable whether there remains an "indissoluble bond of a thing with its original owner" (Gregory, 1982:18). Similarly, money given to beggars in a context where giver and receiver are aliens (as in Testart's example) appears to be fully alienated from the former, particularly since money - in contrast to other objects - often (albeit not always) has no inherent personal qualities.  
+
* Mauss, Marcel. 2000. (original work from 1925). ''The Gift: Forms and functions of exchange in archaic societies''. (Halls, W.D., trans.). W. W. Norton & Company. ISBN 039332043X
  
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"Free" gifts therefore challenge all three aspects of the Maussian notion of the gift: it can be questioned whether
+
* Mauss, Mauss. 2001. (original work from 1902). ''General Theory of Magic''. Routledge. ISBN 0415253969
  
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* there is an inalienable bond between giver and the object that is given
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* Mauss, Marcel. 2003. ''On Prayer''. (Pickering, W.S.F., Ed.; Morphy, H. & Leslie, S. Trans.). Durkheim Press. ISBN 157181633X
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* the gift necessarily creates an obligation to reciprocate, or
 
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* gift exchange forms a mutual interdependence between the parties involved.  
 
  
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==Legacy==
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* Mauss, Marcel. 2006. ''Techniques, Technology And Civilization''. ISBN 1571816623
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While Mauss is known for several of his own works - most notably his masterpiece ''Essai sur le Don'' ('[[The Gift (book)|the Gift]]') - much of his best work was done in colloboration with members of the [[Annee Sociologique]], whether it be [[Émile Durkheim|Durkheim]] himself (''Primitive Classification''), [[Henri Hubert]] (''Outline of a General Theory of Magic'' and ''Essay on the Nature and Function of Sacrifice''), [[Paul Fauconnet]] (''Sociology'') or others.
+
 
 +
* Mauss, Mauss. & Durkheim Emile. 1967. (original work from 1902). ''Primitive Classification''. University Of Chicago Press. ISBN 0226173348
  
−
Like many prominent French academics, Mauss did not train a great number of students. Nonetheless, many anthropologists claim to have followed in his footsteps, most notably [[Claude Lévi-Strauss]]. The essay on ''The Gift'' is the origin for anthropological studies of [[reciprocity]]. His analysis of the [[Potlatch]] has been used by many interested in [[gift economy|gift economies]] and [[Open Source]] software, although this latter use sometimes differs from Mauss's original formulation.
+
* Mauss, Mauss & Hubert Henri. 1981. (original work from 1898). ''Sacrifice: Its Nature and Functions''. (Halls, W.D., trans.). University Of Chicago Press. ISBN 0226356795
  
 +
== References ==
  
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== Publications ==
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* Allen, N.J., James, W. & Mauss, M. (Eds.). 1998. ''Marcel Mauss: A Centenary Tribute''. Berghahn Books. ISBN 1571817050
  
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Essai sur la nature et la fonction du sacrifice, (with [[Henri Hubert]]) [[1898]].
+
* Fournier, Marcel. 2005. ''Marcel Mauss: A Biography'', (Todd. J.M., Trans.). Princeton University Press. ISBN 0691117772
  
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La sociologie: objet et méthode, (with Paul Fauconnet) [[1901]].
+
* Gregory, Christopher A. 1982. ''Gifts and Commodities''. Academic Press. ISBN 0123014603
  
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De quelques formes primitives de classification, (with [[Durkheim]]) [[1902]].
+
* Gregory, Christopher A. 1997. ''Savage money: The anthropology and politics of commodity exchange''. Routledge. ISBN 9057020920
  
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Esquisse d'une théorie générale de la magie, (with [[Henri Hubert]]) [[1902]].
+
* Laidlaw, J. 2000. ‘A free gift makes no friends’ ''Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute'' 6, 617-634.  
  
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Essai sur le don, [[1924]].
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* Levi-Strauss, C. 1987. ''Introduction to the Work of Marcel Mauss''. Routledge. ISBN 0415151589
  
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Sociologie et anthropologie, (selected writings) [[1950]].
+
* Moebius, Stephan & Papilloud, Christian (Eds.). 2005. ''Gift – Marcel Mauss' Kulturtheorie der Gabe''. Wiesbaden: VS.
  
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The [http://classiques.uqac.ca/classiques/mauss_marcel/mauss_marcel.html works of Marcel Mauss] are available free of charge (in french) in the [http://classiques.uqac.ca/ "Les classiques des sciences sociales"] web site, inside the  [http://classiques.uqac.ca/classiques/ "Les auteurs classiques"] collection.
+
* Testart, A. 1998. 'Uncertainties of the 'Obligation to Reciprocate': A Critique of Mauss', In James, W. & Allen, N. J. (eds.). ''Marcel Mauss: A Centenary Tribute''. New York: Berghahn Books.
  
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== References ==
+
==External Links==
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* Fournier, Marcel. 1994. Marcel Mauss. Fayard: Paris (the definitive biography in French).
 
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* Gregory, C. A. 1982. Gifts and Commodities. London. 
 
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*  Gregory, C. A. 1997. Savage money: the anthropology and politics of commodity exchange. Amsterdam: Harwood Academic, 1997.
 
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* Laidlaw, J. 2000. ‘A free gift makes no friends’ Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute 6:617-634.
 
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* Mauss, M. 1990. The Gift: forms and functions of exchange in archaic societies. London: Routledge.
 
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* Testart, A. 1998. 'Uncertainties of the 'Obligation to Reciprocate': A Critique of Mauss' in Marcel Mauss: A Centenary Tribute James, W. and Allen, N. J. (eds.). New York: Berghahn Books.
 
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* Moebius, Stephan/Papilloud, Christian (Ed.). 2005. Gift – Marcel Mauss' Kulturtheorie der Gabe. Wiesbaden: VS.
 
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* Moebius, Stephan. 2006. Marcel Mauss. Konstanz
 
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* [http://www.pupress.princeton.edu/titles/8038.html Fournier, Marcel. Marcel Mauss: A Biography, PUP, 2005]
 
  
 +
*[http://classiques.uqac.ca/classiques/mauss_marcel/mauss_marcel.html The works of Marcel Mauss] - available free of charge (in French only) in the [http://classiques.uqac.ca/ "Les classiques des sciences sociales"] web site, inside the  [http://classiques.uqac.ca/classiques/ "Les auteurs classiques"] collection.
  
 +
*[http://www.anthrobase.com/Browse/Cit/M/marcel_mauss.htm AnthroBase] – Some discussion on Mauss’s works
  
 +
* Mauss, Marcel. [http://orion.oac.uci.edu/~dbell/Mauss.pdf#search='marcel%20mauss' ''The Gift''] – PDF format of Mauss’s ''The Gift'' in English
  
 
{{credit1|Marcel_Mauss|65017254|}}
 
{{credit1|Marcel_Mauss|65017254|}}

Revision as of 19:57, 5 August 2006


Marcel Mauss (born May 10, 1872 – died February 10, 1950) was a French sociologist best known for his role in elaborating on and securing the legacy of his uncle, Émile Durkheim and the Annee Sociologique. His pioneering work on reciprocity and gift economies in “primitive” cultures make him, considered by many, the father of modern Franch anthropology.

Life

Marcel Mauss was born in 1872 in Epinal, France, into an Orthodox Jewish family. His famous uncle, Emile Durkheim influenced his interest for philosophy, and Mauss entered the University of Bordeaux where Durkheim was a philosophy professor. Mauss studied there under Alfred Espinas and Octave Hamelin. Although he never received a formal degree, in 1895 he became Agrégé de Philosophie, passing teaching exam in philosophy. Instead of taking the usual route of teaching at a lycee, Mauss moved to Paris and took up the study of comparative religion, particularly Sanskrit. From 1897 to 1898 he took a study trip to Oxford, England, where he met Edward Tylor, by many considered the father of anthropology. Mauss’s first publication in 1896 marked the beginning of a prolific career that would produce several landmarks in the sociological literature.

In 1900 Mauss joined the faculty of the École Pratique des Hautes Études at the University of Paris. He took up his first important position as a chair in 'History of religion and uncivilized peoples' in 1902, succeeding famous professor Leon Marillier. It was at this time that he began drawing more and more on ethnography, and his work began increasingly to look like what we would today call anthropology. Mauss continued to teach this course at the University of Paris until 1930, and after 1930 he taught the same course at the College de France.

One thing made Mauss distinctive from other scholars of his time. Unlike others who mostly spent time on theoretical knowledge, Mauss was rather practical and socially active. He was a member of Annee Sociologique, and as such was attracted to socialism, particularly that espoused by Jean Jaures. Mauss was active in the events of the Dreyfus affair - supporting Emile Zola - and towards the end of the century he helped edit such left-wing papers as le Populaire, l'Humanite and le Mouvement Socialiste, the last in collaboration with Georges Sorel. As a scholar Mauss always remained socially active, never losing sight of reality around him.

The years of World War I were absolutely devastating for Mauss. Many of his friends and colleagues died in the war, including Durkheim’s son. Durkheim died of grief shortly thereafter, and Mauss was left practically alone to continue his legacy. The postwar years proved politically difficult for Mauss. Durkheim had previously made changes to school curriculums across France, and after his death a backlash against his students began. Like many other followers of Durkheim, Mauss took refuge in administration, securing Durkheim's legacy by founding institutions such as l'Institut Français de Sociologie in 1924 and l'Institut d'Ethnologie in 1926. In 1931 he took up the chair of Sociology at the College de France. He actively fought against anti-semitism and racial politics both before and after WWII. He died in 1950.

Work

In his classic work The Gift, Mauss argued that gifts are never "free". Rather, human history is full of examples that gifts give rise to reciprocal exchange. The famous question that drove his inquiry into the anthropology of the gift was: "What power resides in the object given that causes its recipient to pay it back?" The answer, according to Mauss, was simple: the gift is a "total prestation", imbued with "spiritual mechanisms", engaging the honor of both giver and receiver (the term "total prestation" or "total social fact" (in French fait social total) was coined by his student Maurice Leenhardt (after Durkheim's social fact). Such transactions transcend the divisions between the spiritual and the material in a way that according to Mauss is almost "magical". The giver does not merely give an object, but also part of himself, for the object is indissolubly tied to the giver: "the objects are never completely separated from the men who exchange them". Because of this bond between giver and gift, the act of giving creates a social bond with an obligation to reciprocate on part of the recipient. To not reciprocate means to lose honor and status, but the spiritual implications can be even worse. In Polynesia, failure to reciprocate means to lose mana, one's spiritual source of authority and wealth. Mauss distinguished between three obligations: giving - the necessary initial step for the creation and maintenance of social relationships; receiving, for to refuse to receive is to reject the social bond; and reciprocating in order to demonstrate one's own liberality, honor and wealth.

An important notion in Mauss' conceptualization of gift exchange is what Gregory (1982, 1997) refers to as "inalienability". In a commodity economy there is a strong distinction between objects and persons through the notion of private property. Objects are sold, meaning that the ownership rights are fully transferred to the new owner. The object has thereby become "alienated" from its original owner. In a gift economy, however, the objects that are given are inalienated from the givers; they are "loaned rather than sold and ceded". It is the fact that the identity of the giver is invariably bound up with the object given that causes the gift to have a power, which compels the recipient to reciprocate. Because gifts are inalienable they must be returned; the act of giving creates a gift-debt that has to be repaid. Gift exchange therefore leads to a mutual interdependence between giver and receiver. According to Mauss, the "free" gift that is not returned is a contradiction because it cannot create social ties. Following the Durkheimian quest for understanding social cohesion through the concept of solidarity, Mauss' argument is that solidarity is achieved through the social bonds created by gift exchange.

Critique

Mauss' views on the nature of gift exchange have not been without their critics. Testart (1998) for example argues that there are "free" gifts, such as passers-by giving money to beggars in e.g. a large Western city. Donor and receiver do not know each other and are unlikely to ever meet again. In this context, the donation certainly creates no obligation on the side of the beggar to reciprocate; neither the donor nor the beggar have such an expectation. Moreover, the transaction does not establish a relationship between the two, much less a mutual interdependence . In addition to that, there are different kinds of obligations: a) feelings of obligation, e.g. created by having been invited for dinner and having a feeling that one should reciprocate; b) social obligations, meaning that the social context obliges one to reciprocate, and that a failure to do so would not only affect one's relationship with the giver but also affect one's reputation in general; and c) legal obligations, as established through a legal contract. It can be argued that only the latter can actually be enforced. Mauss’s critics therefore claim that he overstated the magnitude of the obligation created by social pressures.

Legacy

While Mauss is known for several of his own works - most notably his masterpiece Essai sur le Don (The Gift]) - many of his best works were done in collaboration with members of the Annee Sociologique - Émile Durkheim (Primitive Classification), Henri Hubert (General Theory of Magic and Essay on the Nature and Function of Sacrifice, and others. Mauss used to work on several different things simultaneously, but unfortunately many of them he had never finished (on prayer, on nationalism, on the origins of money, etc.)

Like many prominent French academics, Mauss did not train a great number of students. Nonetheless, many anthropologists claim to have followed in his footsteps, most notably Claude Lévi-Strauss. Mauss’s essay The Gift became the origin of anthropological studies of reciprocity. His analysis of the Potlatch has been used by many interested in gift economies and Open Source software, although this latter use sometimes differs from Mauss's original formulation.

Bibliography

  • Mauss, Marcel. 1979. Sociology and psychology: Essays. Routledge and K. Paul. ISBN 0710088779
  • Mauss, M. 1985. (original work from 1950). Sociologie et anthropologie. PUF. ISBN 2130390897
  • Mauss, Marcel. 2000. (original work from 1925). The Gift: Forms and functions of exchange in archaic societies. (Halls, W.D., trans.). W. W. Norton & Company. ISBN 039332043X
  • Mauss, Mauss. 2001. (original work from 1902). General Theory of Magic. Routledge. ISBN 0415253969
  • Mauss, Marcel. 2003. On Prayer. (Pickering, W.S.F., Ed.; Morphy, H. & Leslie, S. Trans.). Durkheim Press. ISBN 157181633X
  • Mauss, Marcel. 2006. Techniques, Technology And Civilization. ISBN 1571816623
  • Mauss, Mauss. & Durkheim Emile. 1967. (original work from 1902). Primitive Classification. University Of Chicago Press. ISBN 0226173348
  • Mauss, Mauss & Hubert Henri. 1981. (original work from 1898). Sacrifice: Its Nature and Functions. (Halls, W.D., trans.). University Of Chicago Press. ISBN 0226356795

References
ISBN links support NWE through referral fees

  • Allen, N.J., James, W. & Mauss, M. (Eds.). 1998. Marcel Mauss: A Centenary Tribute. Berghahn Books. ISBN 1571817050
  • Fournier, Marcel. 2005. Marcel Mauss: A Biography, (Todd. J.M., Trans.). Princeton University Press. ISBN 0691117772
  • Gregory, Christopher A. 1982. Gifts and Commodities. Academic Press. ISBN 0123014603
  • Gregory, Christopher A. 1997. Savage money: The anthropology and politics of commodity exchange. Routledge. ISBN 9057020920
  • Laidlaw, J. 2000. ‘A free gift makes no friends’ Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute 6, 617-634.
  • Levi-Strauss, C. 1987. Introduction to the Work of Marcel Mauss. Routledge. ISBN 0415151589
  • Moebius, Stephan & Papilloud, Christian (Eds.). 2005. Gift – Marcel Mauss' Kulturtheorie der Gabe. Wiesbaden: VS.
  • Testart, A. 1998. 'Uncertainties of the 'Obligation to Reciprocate': A Critique of Mauss', In James, W. & Allen, N. J. (eds.). Marcel Mauss: A Centenary Tribute. New York: Berghahn Books.

External Links

  • Mauss, Marcel. The Gift – PDF format of Mauss’s The Gift in English

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