One thing to keep in mind: for most people the point of a gift is not to transfer an economic resource to you but to express something about the relationship they have with you (and they’re willing for this expression to cost something; and, generally, we’re willing as a society for this expression to come with economic inefficiencies: often, the giver chooses a gift (though less so at weddings) and the giver has much less information about the preferences of the receiver than the receiver).
I think gift-giving is a psychologically tricky issue. I also think one shouldn’t downplay the symbolic value in gifts—rather, one should see the economic costs of a gift as a necessary cost for creating the symbolic value (rather than primarily as a cost for making a new coffee machine stand in the receiver’s kitchen).
I just say this because often, donations to charity aren’t a full substitute for a gift to the receiver: they don’t fully create the same symbolic meaning. (I’d actually love to see a more general discussion of this: many EAs create fundraisers for their birthdays and I, personally, think such fundraisers partly miss the point of gift-giving)
One thing to keep in mind: for most people the point of a gift is not to transfer an economic resource to you but to express something about the relationship they have with you (and they’re willing for this expression to cost something; and, generally, we’re willing as a society for this expression to come with economic inefficiencies: often, the giver chooses a gift (though less so at weddings) and the giver has much less information about the preferences of the receiver than the receiver).
I think gift-giving is a psychologically tricky issue. I also think one shouldn’t downplay the symbolic value in gifts—rather, one should see the economic costs of a gift as a necessary cost for creating the symbolic value (rather than primarily as a cost for making a new coffee machine stand in the receiver’s kitchen).
I just say this because often, donations to charity aren’t a full substitute for a gift to the receiver: they don’t fully create the same symbolic meaning. (I’d actually love to see a more general discussion of this: many EAs create fundraisers for their birthdays and I, personally, think such fundraisers partly miss the point of gift-giving)