The Serviceberry
An Economy of Gifts and Abundance
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- $18.99
Publisher Description
From the #1 New York Times bestselling author of Braiding Sweetgrass, an inspiring vision of how to reorient our lives around gratitude, reciprocity and community
As Indigenous scientist and author of Braiding Sweetgrass Robin Wall Kimmerer harvests serviceberries alongside the birds, she considers the ethic of reciprocity that lies at the heart of the gift economy. How, she asks, can we learn from Indigenous wisdom and the plant world to reimagine what we value most?
Our economy is rooted in scarcity, competition, and the hoarding of resources, and we have surrendered our values to a system that actively harms what we love. Meanwhile, the serviceberry’s relationship with the natural world is an embodiment of reciprocity, interconnectedness, and gratitude. The tree distributes its wealth—its abundance of sweet, juicy berries—to meet the needs of its natural community. And this distribution ensures its own survival.
The Serviceberry is an antidote to the broken relationships and misguided goals of our times, and a reminder that “hoarding won’t save us, all flourishing is mutual.”
APPLE BOOKS REVIEW
Immersed in the natural world, Robin Wall Kimmerer provides a different view on what an economy should be. Inspired while picking berries and watching birds eat their fill, the botanist was struck by the advantages of a gift economy, based on generosity and reciprocity, as opposed to the scarcity that powers a market economy. Drawing on the traditions of her Potawatomi heritage, and with an assist from economists, Kimmerer lyrically states her case for an economic model that values “we” above “I”. She takes the example of the serviceberry trees and birds—where each provides a service to the other—and applies it to human communities where a focus on local foods and goods offers a modern version of reciprocity. Dismantling capitalism might be a big ask, but creating small gift economies that run parallel to it is not. Like its namesake, The Serviceberry offers plenty of rewards.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
"All flourishing is mutual," according to this rousing treatise on the benefits of communal values. Potawatomi environmentalist Kimmerer (Braiding Sweetgrass) explains that the Potawatomi root word for "berry" (min) is also the root word for "gift," illustrating how in the tribe's "culture of gratitude," natural resources are seen as offerings that carry with them "responsibilities of sharing, respect, reciprocity." Such principles are needed to counter the concentration of resources in the hands of the few, she contends, calling for "gift economies" in which "the practice for dealing with abundance is to give it away." By way of example, she discusses how Native peoples of the Pacific Northwest mark life milestones with celebratory potlatches at which individuals "enhance their prestige and affirm connections with a web of relations" by giving away possessions. Kimmerer is clear-eyed about the challenges of transitioning to a gift economy, acknowledging that it's susceptible to bad actors and will require a drastic change in mindset. However, she observes that modern examples of successful gift economies abound, from public libraries to open-source software and Wikipedia. Kimmerer doesn't attempt to outline a practical plan for vanquishing self-centeredness borne of capitalism, but she nonetheless succeeds in bringing attention to the fact that alternatives are possible. It's an eloquent call to action. Illus.
