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Social Exchange

Social Exchange We have long been aware that exchange of goods, services, etc plays a vital part in our own social life as well as in the life of other peoples we study, and in fact, as Belshaw states ( 1 6, p. 7), that exchange penetrates through the social fabric and may be thought of as a network holding society together. Such awareness, however, was not translated into systematic thinking-with a few exceptions-until very recently. As for these exceptions, Ekeh (37, pp. 2 1-24) cites Sir James Frazer's Folklore in the Old Testament (49), published in 1919, and Chavannes's 1884 Studies in Sociol­ ogy as representing early thinking on social exchange. While, as Ekeh points out, one may well find in these works features of exchange theory propounded by later theorists, their direct impact upon modern thinkers of social exchange is not very clear; it appears that they were the Mendels of exchange theory in that although they were on the right track, they were forgotten by more recent theorists who had to "rediscover" the concept. Three anthropologists stand out as having had disproportionate influence in the development of exchange theory. The first is Mauss, who has carried on http://www.deepdyve.com/assets/images/DeepDyve-Logo-lg.png Annual Review of Anthropology Annual Reviews

Social Exchange

Befu, Harumi
Annual Review of Anthropology , Volume 6 (1) – Oct 1, 1977
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Publisher
Annual Reviews
Copyright
Copyright 1977 Annual Reviews. All rights reserved
Subject
Review Articles
ISSN
0084-6570
eISSN
1545-4290
DOI
10.1146/annurev.an.06.100177.001351
Publisher site
See Article on Publisher Site

Abstract

We have long been aware that exchange of goods, services, etc plays a vital part in our own social life as well as in the life of other peoples we study, and in fact, as Belshaw states ( 1 6, p. 7), that exchange penetrates through the social fabric and may be thought of as a network holding society together. Such awareness, however, was not translated into systematic thinking-with a few exceptions-until very recently. As for these exceptions, Ekeh (37, pp. 2 1-24) cites Sir James Frazer's Folklore in the Old Testament (49), published in 1919, and Chavannes's 1884 Studies in Sociol­ ogy as representing early thinking on social exchange. While, as Ekeh points out, one may well find in these works features of exchange theory propounded by later theorists, their direct impact upon modern thinkers of social exchange is not very clear; it appears that they were the Mendels of exchange theory in that although they were on the right track, they were forgotten by more recent theorists who had to "rediscover" the concept. Three anthropologists stand out as having had disproportionate influence in the development of exchange theory. The first is Mauss, who has carried on

Journal

Annual Review of Anthropology – Annual Reviews

Published: Oct 1, 1977

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