Over the past few days I have been reading and rereading
Jonny and Kester’s posts on ‘Gift’, and have sat somewhat unquietly through
these readings… there are a number of reasons for this which I would like, if
you would be so generous, to explore here..
Firstly, I get the sense through both of their posts on this
subject, each are still holding on to a rather romantic vision of socialism. (I
would insert a ‘smiling, winking’ emoticon here, if I didn’t find emoticons so
infuriating. ie - please read this as an impertinent question rather than definitive statement)
Secondly, I’m conscious of the fact my personal and
professional challenge is to model and proof ‘profitable’ or ‘balancing’
organisations.
Thirdly, I think the ‘Gift Economy’ is as complex, distorted
and unaware as the wider, currently more powerful ‘Market Economy’ we are
mostly working in.
Despite these struggles I have been provoked into thinking
further about what it is about ‘gift’ that both excites and interests me. I
think I have whittled it down to three, which are:
· Gift and non-gift – the use and abuse of gift in
the market economy
· The Gifting Business model - paying it’s way in
the world
· The importance of gift and letting go – gift as
anti-protectionism
So over the next few days will post on each of these topics…
but before I do I want to return to this question of ‘a romantic visions of socialism’
Please believe me when I say I was just being just a little
cheeky in my earlier accusation toward Kester and Jonny… … it is clear from
both their posts they believe in mixed economies, which both market and gift
have a place.
The trouble is we (in the UK at least) live a bit of a
bi-polar economic existence, presented with an either or choice of economic
model, simplistically summarised as ‘state vs individual’. Blair, at least in
his pre-PM days, flirted heavily with ideas of communitarianism, but this has
only been translated into practice through some of the grant giving from the
national lottery. Really just tinkering at the edges.
I feel the Church also happily participates in the
continuation of this bi-polar myth, often helped along by the likes of
Christian Aid. Although I sympatise, and stand alongside them, in their call
for preference of the poor, I cannot excuse their often biased analysis, and
simplistic answers, often simply dressed-up protectionism (I’ll talk more about
protectionism in the last post).
December 31st last year was the day on which Seymore
Martin Lipset died. Lipset was a fascinating guy for many reasons, not least
because, as an American, he once joined the ‘Young People’s Socialist League,
Fourth International’ – yes an American socialist.
He was also the political scientist who discovered the
following demographic fact – More young people supported the Vietnam War than
did any other section of American population. As the war progressed, the whole
country turned against it, but those under 30 remained least likely to regard
it as an error.
And so can be credited, somewhat, with idea of ‘the innate conservatism
of young people’. But back to economics…
Lipset insights into the US and Socialism are, at least
here, most interesting. For many years their existed the question ‘Why didn’t
socialism catch on in the US,
in the way it did across much of the rest of the world?” – This became known as
the ‘American Question’.
Lipset explained the American Question, though an answer
which has been termed, or built upon the term, ‘American Exceptionalism’, which states; 'America is
different because it lacks a feudal past, is more socially egalitarian, more
meritocratic and more individualistic. It has also rejected state religion;
instead individuals enjoy a personal relationship with their God.'
The thing is that all these values which characterise
American Exceptionalism, are being, or have been, increasingly adopted by the rest of the
world. If we are to seriously create alternative economic models (and not
simply critique the current flow), we must first understand and accept
this reality.
I hope the next three posts will provide a small suggestion
as to the direction some of these alternative models may… possibly… move…
toward.
![](http://<a href="http://www.emergentvillage.com" target="_blank"><img src="http://emergentvillage.com/images/em_button_120x90.jpg" width="120" height="90"){kind=link}