23 The gift of populism
Introduction
Gifts are dangerous things, they seduce, bind, overmaster.
If one does not give presents at certain festivities, one is considered a Scrooge; and reciprocity is expected: if one cannot return in kind and equal measure, one remains somewhat in debt. If such asymmetry continues, the relationship can become a power relation, even between family members and friends.
Marcel Mauss, who studied the dynamics of gifts in some hunting/gathering societies, explained them as complex structures that involved several dimensions: affective, religious, social, cultural, political. In some cases, different groups engage in social and political competition through gifts to establish ...
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