Between keeping up with developments re COVID-19, and efforts to clarify my own perceptions in regard to reciprocity, I deleted more material in the last post than was actually kept. So today I'll try again, to explore relevant differences between (what could be considered) personal and social reciprocity.
Free markets are often described as voluntary forms of exchange. Even so, too many time based economic interactions, are not as spontaneous and voluntary as they could be. When it comes to other forms of product, prices can usually do a good job of representing and coordinating the voluntary actions of individuals and groups. It's when final product contains substantial time based and experiential components, that people face too many obstacles in what they might otherwise create or provide for one another. Money is a tremendous price and signal, but it could perform even better, if mutual time preferences could also function as prices, signals, and stores of economic value.
Many activities take place either through the personal reciprocity of individuals, or the social reciprocity of groups. While personal exchange allows individuals to negotiate for common purposes, social reciprocity seeks to build bridges and common "middle ground", as well. Since beginning this project, I've tended to focus more on personal reciprocity, than social reciprocity. However the reality is they are equally important, for they often need to function simultaneously in many social circumstance. Even as personal reciprocity creates starting points between individuals, it's the larger group context of social reciprocity which encourages a cohesive and constructive whole. In other words: When minds "think alike" in terms of aspirations and personal commitments, individual daily contributions in this context, are more likely to create circles of social sustainability.
Both social and personal reciprocity require understandable social patterns which are voluntary and not forced. People are far more likely to continue reaching out to other individuals, once it becomes obvious their efforts will generally not be in vain. What's more, societies and their institutions cannot expect immediate family members to assume too much personal reciprocity in the form of internal family roles. When this occurs, human capital potential is limited, as is also the potential of group interactions as a whole.
Plus, when individual family members have plenty of options in group settings for time based services provision, each family member stands a better chance of maintaining their personal autonomy and self respect. Indeed, family relationships tend to be more positive and supportive, so long as all family members have ample opportunity to benefit from the personal reciprocity and social reciprocity of group settings. We often observe this now in the services generation of high income communities, for instance. The more possibilities each individual holds for time arbitrage, the less the chance that everyday interactions will be of a forced nature.
How might we create reliable patterns for mutual reciprocity which are more voluntary in nature than present day institutions? Skills arbitrage - for all its monetary value - has proven insufficient for the generation of services, knowledge, and personal autonomy which societies aspire to, particularly during times of economic uncertainty. Time arbitrage could ultimately tap into more sources of human capital, than skills arbitrage is capable of. Eventually, time arbitrage could lead to sustainable forms of services generation, which take place via common and easy to understand frameworks.
In order to function effectively, time arbitrage would include recognizable elements of both personal and social reciprocity. As to the latter, new communities could be established, where common interests could be pursued as a long term continuum for the maintenance and care of applied knowledge. Best, these new sources of human capital could rely on internal organizational patterns to generate new wealth. Indeed, one might dare hope, that when societies falter for any reason, such communities would serve as repositories of human potential, economic integration, and long term economic stability. In these settings, personal reciprocity could become the base which is strong enough for the larger goals of social reciprocity.
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