ABSTRACT
This chapter presents some closing thoughts on key concepts discussed in the preceding chapters of this book. The book focuses on the contribution of Marcel Mauss to social theory and a theory of cooperation. It establishes the paradigm of the gift as the basis for a theory of interaction. The book draws up a social theory of the gift, whereby it have resorted to two 'master models' of giving: on the one hand, on the developmental-psychological model of giving and receiving of affects between infant and caregiver; on the other hand, on the cultural-historical model of agonistic giving between groups developed by Mauss. Strong cultural ideas and organizational requirements work like interdependence breakers in the interaction logic and can undermine the logic of the gift. Historically, of course, a prerequisite for the development of the logic of the gift is the dissolution of strong ascriptions and status hierarchies.
