Passage: In her analysis of gift-giving, Mary Douglas argued that 'the free gift is a contradiction.' Even when givers believe they want nothing in return, the act of giving inherently establishes a claim. To accept a gift is to accept a subordinate position until the debt is repaid. The 'unreturnable' gift—like the one given by a god to a mortal or a billionaire to a beggar—is a form of power that can never be challenged. It creates a state of 'permanent patronage.' Douglas suggests that for a gift to be truly 'free' and 'moral,' it must be possible for the recipient to refuse it or to return it in kind. Without the possibility of symmetry, the gift is merely a tool of 'benevolent' coercion.