Gift economies spontaneously produce self-restraint that low prices cannot

Evidence

I looked in my basket: two zucchinis, an onion, tomatoes, bread, and a bunch of cilantro. It was still half empty, but it felt full. I had everything I needed. I glanced over at the cheese stall, thinking to get some, but knowing it would be given, not sold, I decided I could do without. It’s funny: Had all the things in the market merely been a very low price, I probably would have scooped up as much as I could. But when everything became a gift, I felt self-restraint. I didn’t want to take too much. And I began thinking of what small presents I might bring to the vendors tomorrow. — Robin Wall Kimmerer, Braiding Sweetgrass, 107

Categorization

• XREF: Links to Milgrom/Law Merchant on reputation and long-term relationship incentives, and to Trust volume on conditional cooperation. — connects to: Heterogeneous reciprocal gifts injected with money’s character resemble purchase; Self-imposed spending limits function as commitment devices against temptation — John T. Jost and Jim Sidanius, Political Psychology, 2570; Narrow self-interest does not automatically produce efficient exchange (+6 more)

Broader Connections

• Individuals restrain resource use when they expect others to reciprocate, especially under scarcity #corroborates (0.85) — Roderick M. Kramer, Geoffrey J. Leonardelli, Robert W. Livingston, Social Cognition, Social Identity, and…, 1952
• Abandoning gratitude makes the gifts themselves depart. #corroborates (0.80) — Robin Wall Kimmerer, Braiding Sweetgrass, 679
• For-profit tech firms cannot sustain gift economies despite their ideals #qualifies (0.80) — Alice E. Marwick, Status Update, 140
• Heterogeneous reciprocal gifts injected with money’s character resemble purchase #complicates (0.75)
• Self-imposed spending limits function as commitment devices against temptation #corroborates (0.75) — John T. Jost and Jim Sidanius, Political Psychology, 2570
• Narrow self-interest does not automatically produce efficient exchange #corroborates (0.75)
• High-wage market economies substitute self-interest for unreliable charitable trust. #qualifies (0.75) — Diego Gambetta, Trust - Making and Breaking Cooperative…, 1542
• Gifts returned to the land come back as unexpected reciprocal gifts #corroborates (0.75) — Robin Wall Kimmerer, Braiding Sweetgrass, 979
• Markets themselves can only be created by people who act against narrow self-interest #corroborates (0.75) — Donald MacKenzie, An Engine, Not a Camera, 673