Well, that's all a matter of perspective isn't it? We only look at ourselves with this attitude because the world we live in programmed us to do so. If we lived in a world where our very survival depended on building good relationships with other people, and rewarding the people in our lives who we thought deserved it. We'd have a much happier world.
Then.. I guess you got everything as a gift?? You still have to work, or at the very least, someone does.
of course, I'm not looking for a way out of work, that's a natural obligation constant to all life. But it would certainly put a spin on how work gets done, and for what purpose that work is done.
Life has existed exactly like this, a lot longer than our current global money society: Tribal life etc. I can't even remotely comprehend such a society in todays world. Those at the top are more in it for the accumulation of "society tokens" themselves, than accumulating this money to buy stuff. When you take that whole element out of it, "production" of everything will drop by about 1000000000%, consumerism will die, people will become closer, and the Earth/landbase will probably be saved. Instead we destroy everything and send the Earth to it's peril... because that other stuff is radical "hippy shit" and not realistic. I just don't know what the hell to do. The more I educate myself on our destructive society, the more I just bang my head against a wall thinking 'why?' It's frustrating being shackled to a sinking ship.
Or what if the world was ours, and we all had the same rights to everything as everyone else? And could just have what we needed? Damn commies...
Gift-giving would be reduced to a meaningless transaction, and used against portions of the populations in ways not aligned w/ altruism or humanity.
Oh man I've got more accounts than I can keep up with. I am firmly situated in the dead center of the grid. And I dunno, I'm not a big gift-giver, I do always have beer and weed for everyone around or who comes over, but it's not like a gift. My girlfriend gave me a beer brewing kit, which has meaning, it means I can get really drunk off some dank home brew. I dunnooooo mannnnnnnnn