Customer Reviews

For-Giving: A Feminist Criticism of Exchange

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The book makes a very persuasive argument that exchange promotes hierarchy and that gifting, giving, promotes cooperation and more egalitarian, peaceful relations between people. I found it profoundly informing and moving, and I don't believe I will ever quite see the world again the same way, after reading this book. I had already recognized that our monetary system was deeply flawed and received the book as a gift from the author after having organized a panel on local currencies at the TOES Conference in Denver in 1996 (Where we also protested the G-7 Summit). It was such a radical point of view that, at the time,I felt that local currencies were an imperative to begin the process of understanding the problems inherent in our monetary system and a gift economy was unattainable, a dream. These days, with our system crashing and harming so many people, I'm beginning to think Gen may have been right and that giving or gifting is the best first step to changing consciousness and moving society from the dominator/imperial/war mentality towards a peaceful/cooperative/life nurturing, healing, enlightened one.