Economy of Reciprocity: An approach to the Social Solidarity Economy on the basis of the concept of “gift”

Abstract

In different academic and descriptive texts regarding the Social Solidarity Economy (SSE) it is explicitly stated that this “new economy” is based on a rationale that is different from the utilitarian one and from the pursuit of private accumulation of surplus. In much of the current economic behavior in diverse societies and historical contexts one finds the logic of “gift”, which can help understand various behaviors related to exchange, solidarity, reciprocity and redistribution which underpin many of the strategies, activities, relationships and endeavors of the SSE. This behavior corresponds to other logics and rationalities that are beyond the so-called homo economicus. The concept of gift is an appropriate paradigm to understand the ethos underlying such relationships and to describe the ties and links in the SSE. This paper discusses a conceptual and theoretical approach to the concept of gift and the substantivism proposed by Polanyi as factors that help understand some of the strategies and rationales present in the SSE. It also summarizes some recent ethnographic studies in the northern highlands of Ecuador that identify the validity and importance of institutions characterized by reciprocity and the logic of gift.

Key words: Social Solidarity Economy, gift, reciprocity, substantivism.