The words “ecology” and “economy” come from the same root, the Greek oikos , meaning “home” or “household”: i.e., the systems of relationship, the goods and services that keep us alive. The system of market economies that we’re given as a default is hardly the only model out there. Anthropologists have observed and shared multiple cultural... See more

The currency in a gift economy is relationship, which is expressed as gratitude, as interdependence and the ongoing cycles of reciprocity. Anthropological ideas mentioned in the article point towards this as being a way of sustaining life in various communities.