Irony has only emergency use. Carried over time it is the voice of the trapped who have come to enjoy their cage.

Irony has only emergency use. Carried over time it is the voice of the trapped who have come to enjoy their cage.

Unlike the sale of a commodity, the giving of a gift tends to establish a relationship between the parties involved. When gifts circulate within a group, their commerce leaves a series of interconnected relationships in its wake, and a kind of decentralized cohesiveness emerges.

But neither money nor machines can create. They shuttle tokens of energy, but they do not transform. A civilization based on them puts people out of touch with their creative powers.

To be a great teacher, you can't simply be looking at how to earn your income. And with a priest or spiritual leader - there's another relationship that makes those lives what they are. And in each of these cases you'll find elements of gift exchange thriving, and you'll also find a tension around it.

A gift that cannot be given away ceases to be a gift. The spirit of a gift is kept alive by its constant donation.

An anaesthetic is a poet-killer.