“Balanced reciprocity is as much a social compact as it is an economic advantage.”

— Peter Farb

Man's Rise to Civilization (1968)
Context: Balanced reciprocity is as much a social compact as it is an economic advantage. It is particularly important in hunting-gathering societies, where no individual could possibly accumulate a surplus, live independently of other members of the band, or become so successful in the quest for food as never to need meat from someone else's kill.<!-- p. 44

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Peter Farb92

American academic and writer 1929–1980

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