The Gift: The Technique of Reciprocity in a Society of Control

• In Event: Back from the Dead: Old Concepts for New Times

Abstract

The principle of reciprocity is the basis of the gift, according to Marcel Mauss in his classical book on gift exchange, an idea that is further elaborated by Lévi-Strauss in Les structures élémentaires de la parenté. The reciprocal obligation is threefold: there is the obligation to give, the obligation to receive, and the obligation to present a gift in return. An interesting example of the gift comes from the Dutch city of Rotterdam, where a neighborhood speed limit is enforced by positive financial incentives. Each time a car driver sticks to the speed limit, a small amount of money is transferred to a fund for neighborhood improvement. To understand this new way of safety and security management, I will use the concept of the gift to explain how reciprocity works in a society of control. Rather than framing the gift as an anthropological notion, I will reframe the notion of the gift as a technique of surveillance.

Author

• Marc Schuilenburg, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam