Gift Exchange essays

Gift Exchange essays It is the most ancient system of economy and law that we can find or of which we can conceive. (pg. 70) This quote, from Marcel Mauss The Gift, describes the system of total services, and how it formed the basis of gift exchange. Gifts have many different meanings behind them. Now days, we give gifts as a tradition for birthdays, Christmas, anniversaries and so on. Yet, in the times of the Scandinavian civilization, among others, gift exchange was the way their economy was ran. Even though the gift exchange economy worked for these civilizations, it is not a sufficient way to run an economy. Gift exchange took place just how exchanges and contracts are made today. The giving and receiving of these exchanges are obligatory. The obligations of exchange were made between, as Mauss put it in The Gift, the contracting parties were legal entities; clans, tribes, and families. (The Gift pg. 5) What they exchanged, primarily, were acts of politeness, as Mauss wrote it. (The Gift pg. 5) These were forms of banquets, rituals, women, children, dances, and festivals. These came to be a form of gifts and presents to the other families or clans. Now that this economy has been partly explained, we must go on to its features. The most important feature within the gift exchange economy would be the obligation to give and receive. The glamour of giving a gift is prestige. In the present time, we elect a ruler, or a president. With electing someone, as the President, people get to know their accomplishments, some of their background, their abilities and what they are capable of. With honoring someone with prestige because they gave a good gift seems a bit unreasonable. All it does is show that that particular person knows how to please someone in this exchange. It doesnt really give you much reference as to who the person is. Within the gift exchange economy, prestige allows ...

Word Choice Proscribe vs. Prescribe - Proofread My Paper

Word Choice Proscribe vs. Prescribe - Proofread My Paper Word Choice: Proscribe vs. Prescribe How big a difference can one letter make? Well, if its a choice between having a â€Å"bowl of chili† or a â€Å"bowel of chili,† we’re pretty sure which one we’d pick. Definitely preferable. (Image: Carstor/wikimedia) Likewise, confusing â€Å"proscribe† and â€Å"prescribe† in your written work, although less painful, would be pretty disastrous. This is because â€Å"proscribe† and â€Å"prescribe† are actually opposites, despite looking similar written down. Make sure you know what each words means. Proscribe (To Forbid) To â€Å"proscribe† something is to forbid it or make it illegal, usually because it’s harmful: The sale of alcohol was proscribed throughout the United States. Not everyone took the ban that seriously, though While â€Å"proscribe† is a verb, the noun form is â€Å"proscription† (i.e., a ban upon something) and the adjective is â€Å"proscriptive† (i.e., the quality of banning something). Prescribe (To Make a Rule) As mentioned above, â€Å"prescribe† is the opposite of â€Å"proscribe.† As such, it means â€Å"set down as a rule† and applies mainly to recommending something: Safety guidelines prescribe wearing protective goggles. Or doggles, if youre of the canine persuasion. Another common use of â€Å"prescribe† is in medicine, where it refers to approving a course of treatment: It turned out it was an allergy, so the doctor prescribed antihistamines. In both cases, the noun form is â€Å"prescription.† Something which sets down rules to be followed, meanwhile, can be described as â€Å"prescriptive† (like how this blog post is â€Å"prescriptive† about using the word â€Å"prescribe†). Proscribe or Prescribe? It’s understandable that these words get confused, because the prefixes â€Å"pro-† and â€Å"pre-† can both mean â€Å"beforehand† or â€Å"in advance.† This is how they’re used in â€Å"proscribe† and â€Å"prescribe,† since both words refer to setting down rules to govern behavior. The difference is that â€Å"proscribe† means setting down rules about what not to do, while â€Å"prescribe† means setting rules for recommended behavior. Remember: Proscribe = Forbid or make illegal Prescribe = Recommend or set as a rule Keep in mind that the â€Å"pro-† in â€Å"proscribe† is the same as in â€Å"prohibit,† which also means to â€Å"forbid† or â€Å"ban† something. Likewise, if you think of a doctor’s prescription pad, you can remember that â€Å"prescribe† means â€Å"recommend a course of action†.