31 October 2010

Necessity versus gifts

Scarcity and threat motivate out of necessity. 
Necessity is the name we give to exogenous incentives. 
The model of political/economics posits tastes and preferences that describe an inner life but in truth the social application of those tastes and preferences occurs in the context of a cultural system that imposes behavior out of necessity. 
The name we give to endogenous incentives is gifts. 
Oddly enough, the action of gift exchange is not as finely nuanced to the individual's tastes and preferences as is market exchange. Social action that comes not out of necessity but out of gratitude is the more gracious behavior. It defines the motivation of an enlightened elite. 

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