The Gift Economy & Sustainability

I first heard of the idea of The Gift Economy when researching the digital artist Johnathan Harris.  They are not usually 2 words that go together, gift and economy.In the gift economy the producer is motivated by a faith that giving freely strengthens the basic social fabric.  Ideally, a gift economy transaction is not a single transaction at all; it aims to be a “ripple effect” of giftings and re-giftings. Whereas market economy transactions tend to be bound within a single, reciprocal exchange, gift economy transactions involve sparking a process of giving which inspires "the recipient of the benefit to, in turn, confer a benefit selflessly on another".  This chain-reaction quality of the gift economy is commonly referred to by the phrase, “Pay it forward,” meaning that the "moral obligation of the recipient is not to remunerate the giver, but rather to become the giver in an ongoing altruistic process".In fact a large part of the art world is already part of the gift economy.  It involves artists working for nothing and showing their works at galleries and public spaces without, in many cases any money being exchanged.   Many exhibitions, even the big ones, often rely on volunteer labour to help them run.  Art, artists, and those bringing art to the public are certainly not strangers to this altruistic idea of the gift economy and working for the common good.These days there is a general concensus that vounteer work and "paying it forward" are both strong predictators of improved mental health and happiness, which in today's super busy world is an important consideration when discussing social sustainability.