Bob
Fiske
Reciprocity – Like Water to Fish, Part Three
CLICK HERE to go to Part Two.
Engines of
Reciprocity. The value of
reciprocity is deeply embedded
in our culture and our thinking. I think
we are well aware how intrinsic the engines of marketing and the engines of
advertising are to the methods of conducting business on a daily basis.
The actors in these sectors are hard at work dreaming up new
and better ways to promote the idea that your giving away something of value
(your money, your credit) will result in an even better return to you. We need look no further than the advertising
in print media, broadcast media, billboards and the Internet to appreciate how
omnipresent this “value of exchange” is, and how actively it is being promoted.
Apparently promoting reciprocity—the good deal—works because tons of people respond to Black
Friday mania, convert cash to precious metals (or vice versa), own over-priced
and over-designed technology, etc., etc, etc.
The Crack in the
Fishbowl. But let’s remember
that reciprocity is so ever-present, so woven into our lives that it is like
water to fish. We swim in it, just a bunch of fish in a fishbowl. Strangely, more and more folks are starting
to notice the crack in the fishbowl.
They are becoming aware of, and are questioning, reciprocity.
There isn’t so much to go around anymore, and the efforts of
the big, the rich or the powerful to keep their
tubs full is starting to draw attention—and stimulate outrage. That is understandable. The deep value of reciprocity pretty much mandates
that we keep our senses tuned to the frequency of detecting “unfair
exchanges”. More and more fish in the
school are starting click and clack in distress.
But that is not the end of the story, as I recently
recognized. The imbalances in our
society may be a good thing,
insofar as they lead us to notice, question, and replace the deep, unquestioned
value of reciprocity.
Recapitulation. We have all been conditioned, not just to
strive for payoff, but to hold out for the good deal. Here are some examples.
I’m going to drag myself out of bed the day after
Thanksgiving, and IN RETURN you’re going to give me half-off on all the Christmas
presents I need to buy. Or, I’m going to
give four years of my life to this university and accept a debt to lenders, and
IN RETURN you’re going to set me up for life.
Or, I’m going to give you all the labor hours I can, and IN RETURN,
you’re going to assure me and my family of a secure life. Or, I’m going to shop at your supermarket,
and IN RETURN you’re going to print a number on my receipt that shows me how
much I’ve saved (to make me forget how much I spent). Or, I’m going to give you my vote, and IN
RETURN you’re going to give me some promises.
The Hidden Debt. The good deal is hard to resist. Even knowing what I do, I will still choose
the gas station that has $3.57/gallon over the one that has $3.59/gallon, as if it really matters!
What we are not told (or choose to forget) is that nobody in the United States pays the true
cost for anything. We are taking
from Third World labor, irresponsibly mined resources, and the health of the
planet without giving back to repay the debt.
The costs have been mounting for two centuries, at least, and the debt
that Western civilization has been accruing is knocking at the door. Reciprocity is a lie because the true costs
have been hidden.
This question of unacknowledged debt is key. Which brings me to my second
proposition. If you take something from someone or somewhere and do not return a
fair share, you are a criminal.
We are all criminals because for two centuries we have been
taking from the earth (our ultimate bank) and have not replenished what she has
given us. So, before I sit in judgment
of someone else, I best remind myself that we ALL share responsibility for
creating and maintaining a broken system.
How the System Got
Broken. Long ago, when financial
accounting methods and money were being invented, we all bought into the idea
we could make everything balance. What
was taken would be matched by what was given, and both parties would be
satisfied.
Over time various social experiments tinkered with
this. Different models of exchange were
tested. Along the way, the methods of
reciprocity and fairness got refined. An
evolution was underway, and the most widely accepted system would be declared “the
winner”.
The capitalist ideology has become dominant. In this worldview it is presumed that
fairness is preserved. Now, of course,
many of us know that fairness is not preserved, but what I’m doing is arguing
from the point of view of proponents of capitalism (at least for the moment).
Summary of Part
Three. Marketing and advertising
promote the idea of reciprocity every day, and help it become a deep value that
is barely noticed. The system of “fair
exchanges” is more and more out of balance.
Some are reaping far more rewards than others. The result of this is that significant
segments of the world-society are recognizing that reciprocity does not
necessarily lead to balance and fairness.
The good deal we have been conditioned to seek out may hide important
costs. The spirit of accounting, in
which all benefits are matched by costs of equal value has been tinkered
with. Experiments in economic systems
produced a dominant form—capitalism—that expertly hides so-called externalized
costs. These are debts we owe to the natural
world and to exploited workers who remain beyond the view of our consuming
society.
CLICK HERE to go to Part Four.
