Understanding the Gift Economy

I received an interesting assignment a couple weeks ago: write an explanation of the gift economy. Since the request came from my dear friend Nipun Mehta, to whom I can refuse nothing, I agreed; but I knew from the outset how challenging this seemingly straightforward task would be. As U.S. Supreme Court Justice Potter Stewart famously observed about pornography, some things are easy to recognize and yet quite difficult to define.

The essay, now completed, is included in a new online reference, The Dictionary of Ethical Politics, a joint project of Resurgence and openDemocracy.

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The Pathetic Comedy of Dana Perino

Each week, White House Press Secretary Dana Perino seems to claim a new “personal best” in unintended irony. Today, however, she set a new world record. (One can almost hear the partisan fans chanting, “USA! USA! USA!”)

Here is a verbatim exchange from this afternoon’s press conference, in which Ms. Perino answered questions concerning the “state of emergency” declared by Pakistani dictator, Pervez Musharraf, to crack down on his political opponents:

QUESTION: Is it ever reasonable to restrict constitutional freedoms in the name of fighting terrorism?
MS. PERINO: In our opinion, no.

In Ms. Perino’s defense, she may have dispensed with the concluding caveat, “…unless we do it,” because she thought it so obvious as to be hardly worth mentioning.