Passage: Marcel Mauss argues in his seminal work that the gift economy is defined by a 'triple obligation': to give, to receive, and to repay. Unlike market economies that prioritize the alienability of goods, gift economies view objects as inherently tied to the giver's identity. This 'hau' or spirit of the gift ensures that the object eventually seeks to return to its origin or be balanced by a reciprocal gesture. This creates a state of perpetual social debt, which Mauss views not as a burden, but as the essential glue of social solidarity. In this framework, a transaction is never merely economic; it is a 'total social fact' involving religious, legal, and moral dimensions. The cessation of exchange is thus equivalent to a declaration of social hostility.