We explain what reciprocity is and why it is a value. In addition, its meaning in anthropology and what is the principle of reciprocity.
What is reciprocity?
Reciprocity is the correspondence in the deal between two persons or in the interaction between two objects. Relationships that meet this condition are called reciprocal, a word that comes from Latin reciprocate, a term that was used to describe the back and forth movement of the sea, whose movement on the sand is always equidistant: it comes and goes in the same measure.
So when we say that something is reciprocalWe mean that it "comes and goes": that it offers the same to both parties or that it corresponds in the right measure. For example, a reciprocal love is one in which both people are in love, and reciprocal help is one in which both parties help each other.
A good part of human relationships are based on reciprocity or at least on the promise of it. This is what the proverb “today for you, tomorrow for me” expresses: sometimes by helping others we guarantee help when we need it in the future, so that reciprocity does not necessarily have to be an immediate condition.
Reciprocity as a value
Reciprocity itself can be understood as a social value, that is, as a desirable feature of our relationships. This usually means that we should be generous, affectionate or whatever to those who are in turn to us, which often implies maintaining some gratitude towards the rest of society.
It is normal that reciprocity is understood as a measure of equity (that is, fair treatment) and cooperation (that is, mutual help), although in a strict sense it only raises giving of what we receive.
Reciprocity in anthropology
In the language of the anthropology cultural, the word reciprocity acquires very specific meanings, linked to the functioning of the economies informal, those that dispense with money. In this sense, reciprocity consists of the exchange of favors or goods without the mediation gain nor enrichment.
This type of arrangement is present in all cultures to some extent, and according to anthropologists, three different types of reciprocity could be distinguished:
- Positive, when the exchange is carried out without the need to immediately receive compensation, and it may even never be received, but the promise is enough. This obligation to correspond is infinite and lasting.
- Balanced, when the immediate remuneration is based on some system of equivalences that guarantees to receive the same that is given. They establish a defined period of time for remuneration, and social and / or economic interests have a greater place in this.
- Negative, when the exchange attempts to obtain material benefits at the expense of the other, as in theft, bargaining or fraud. It generally occurs between people of social relationship aloof, neither of which acts altruistically, but seeks to maximize its own benefit.
The principle of reciprocity
In the field of international relations, the principle of reciprocity is known as a fundamental rule of treatment between state different, according to which each one agrees to give to the citizens of the other who reside in their territory a treatment similar to that received by its citizens in foreign territory.
In other words, each State offers the other the same guarantees and the same treatment that it receives from it: economically (for example, eliminating or placing tariffs), legally (for example, establishing extradition agreements) or social (for example, releasing or imposing visas and travel restrictions).
Thus, at least in theory, agreements between States should be reciprocal at all times, to ensure that there are no injustices.