Gift Economics with Charles Eisenstein

Denizen

Charles is the author of several books, including The More Beautiful World Our Hearts Know Is Possible and Sacred Economics. His work spans multiple pillars of the Denizen Inquiry, including economics, culture, and consciousness.

In this episode, Charles and Jenny discuss gift economics, a very different model of exchange than capitalism. In a gift economy, goods and services are given away as gifts without an explicit agreement on giving anything in return. This does not mean there is no financial exchange -- in many cases, the consumer opts into paying an amount that is determined at their discretion after the good or service has been received.

Gift economies are moderated by social norms and were the dominant form of exchange in many indigenous cultures. Critically, gift economies are circular and relational as opposed to a transactional, and thus present a compelling example of a non-extractive economic model that is more aligned with natural law.

This episode covers:

• Why gift models more aligned with human nature [4:40]
• How gift economies induce gratitude and reciprocity [7:21]
• The essential cultural component of gift economies [12:06]
• Why the gift is a natural model for digital goods[13:24]
• How gift economies engender circularity vs. hoarding [15:38]
• Intellectual property and the collective inheritance of humanity [22:00]
• Charles' experience stepping into a gift model in his own work [26:20]
• Implementing a gift model [29:53]
• The circular, relational vs. transactional nature of gift economies [32:00]
• How the circularity of gift economies mimic nature [32:47]
• Navigating boundaries between gift and market economies [34:18]
• Synchronicity and the gift [36:50]

Resources

• The More Beautiful World Our Hearts Know is Possible, Charles Eisenstein
• Sacred Economics, Charles Eisenstein
• The Gift, Lewis Hyde