Margaret Thatcher famously said, “There is no such thing as society.” While this is ridiculous on its face, the enlarging circle of gift culture demonstrates how false this statement is in practice. Society is where we give gifts. Someone in your office publishes a paper about a new technique, or gives a talk at a conference for no pay. You go the extra mile to please a small customer, or build an online forum to teach your customers how to get more out of your products (for no extra cost). These are all examples of the gift system at work.
