JOURNAL ARTICLE

Marcel Mauss, MAUSS and Maussology: The productive reception of the Essay on the Gift in France.

  • Published In: Journal of Classical Sociology, 2025, v. 25, n. 3. P. 295 1 of 3

  • Database: Academic Search Ultimate 2 of 3

  • Authored By: Vandenberghe, Frédéric 3 of 3

Abstract

This article examines Alain Caillé’s interpretation of Marcel Mauss’s seminal *Essay on the Gift* as the foundation of an anti-utilitarian theory of social action, developed through the Mouvement du MAUSS (Movement of Anti-Utilitarianism in the Social Sciences) founded in 1982. It situates Caillé’s “gift paradigm” within the broader French field of Maussology, highlighting its emphasis on the symbolic, reciprocal, and political dimensions of gift exchange as constitutive of social life beyond utilitarian rationality. The article also explores Mauss’s original concepts—such as the triple obligation to give, receive, and reciprocate—and their reinterpretation by Caillé and others, while addressing critiques from structuralist, neo-Marxist, and post-structuralist perspectives. Ultimately, it presents the gift paradigm as a complex, dialectical framework that prioritizes interdependence and symbolic interaction, proposing it as a general but not all-encompassing sociology that complements other social theories.

Additional Information

  • Source:Journal of Classical Sociology. 2025/08, Vol. 25, Issue 3, p295
  • Document Type:Article
  • Subject Area:Anthropology
  • Publication Date:2025
  • ISSN:1468-795X
  • DOI:10.1177/1468795X241249006
  • Accession Number:187071567
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