Gift economy

Wikipedia:

A **gift**
economy**,**gift
culture**, or**gift
exchange**is a mode of exchange where valuables are not traded or sold, but rather given without an explicit**
agreement for immediate or future rewards.[1] This contrasts with a barter
economy

Engineers, scientists and software developers have created open-source software projects such as the Linux kernel and the GNU operating system. They are prototypical examples for the gift economy's prominence in the technology sector and its active role in instating the use of permissive free software and copyleft licenses, which allow free reuse of software and knowledge. Other examples includefile-sharing and open access. – WiFi – as an open source of information.

      The anarchist 1960s countercultural group The Diggers[58] opened free stores which simply gave away their stock, provided free food, distributed free drugs, gave away money, organized free music concerts, and performed works of political art.[59] The Diggers took their name from the original English Diggers led by Gerrard Winstanley[60] and sought to create a mini-society free of money andcapitalism.[61] Although free stores have not been uncommon in the United States since the 1960s, the freegan movement has inspired the establishment of more free stores.

This view traces back at least to Peter Kropotkin, who saw in the hunter-gatherer tribes he had visited the paradigm of "mutual aid".[67]

Typically, mutual-aid groups will be free to join and participate in, and all activities will be voluntary. They are often structured as non-hierarchical, non-bureaucratic non-profit organizations, with members controlling all resources and no external financial or professional support. They are member-led and member-organized. They are egalitarian in nature, and designed to support participatory democracy, equality of member status and power, and shared leadership and cooperative decision-making. Members' external societal status is considered irrelevant inside the group: status in the group is conferred by participation.[69]

As Internet access spread, file sharing became extremely popular among users who could contribute and receive files on line. This form of gift economy was a model for online services such as Napster, which focused on music sharing and was later sued for copyright infringement. Nonetheless, online file sharing persists in various forms such as Bit Torrent and Direct download link.

In his essay "Homesteading the Noosphere", noted computer programmer Eric S. Raymond said that free and open-source software developers have created "a 'gift culture' in which participants compete for prestige by giving time, energy, and creativity away".[85] Prestige gained as a result of contributions to source code fosters a social network for the developer; the open source community will recognize the developer's accomplishments and intelligence. Consequently, the developer may find more opportunities to work with other developers.

“Pot-luck dinner” is an example of gift economy. Often practiced in the U.S.

A short TED educational video on gift economy

(Ideal relationship for me would one where I am doing what I like doing, and what I believe is right, and people joining in the process, in the making, and contributing what they feel is right. It may be some thing they have made, or grown, or money. If I don’t like someone, or their contribution, I will say to them I don’t want them to participate. This is how I started teaching English, at Теремки, 1996.

G. Perel’man proved his theorem, re-posited his proof on a scientific site, and left at that, and refusing a prize! Is that not a “gift”?)