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Gift Versus Bribe

jeffrey | Aug 11, 2009 |

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In developing nations, people tend to see themselves as belongings to an inner circle that consists of relatives, friends, and close colleagues. All those in the inner circle are devoted to mutual protection and prosperity. Everyone else is an "outsider," a stranger whose motives are to be questioned. Obviously, people prefer to conduct business with "insiders" - with others they know and trust.
In a system of future favors, a gift or service obligates the recipient to return the favor at the same time - with interest. And once the favor is returned, the original giver becomes obligated to repay this great favor. And so the system of obligations becomes a lifelong relationship, one that can provide access to the inner circle and that can serve as the basis of business dealings.
A third cultural tradition, intertwined with the future-favors system, is the practice of gift giving. Giving or receiving a gift can be much more than a gesture of friendship - it can be the first in a long-term sequence of gift exchanges. As expert Jeffrey A. Fadiman has noted, "The gifts are simply catalysts. Under ideal circumstances the process should be unending, with visits, gifts, gestures, and services flowing back and forth among participants throughout their lives."
The difficult part in getting into local gift-giving traditions is learning how to distinguish gifts from bribes. If your African contact asks you for money, is he engaging in extortion, or is he encouraging you to enter into the future-favor system? One way to tell is from the size of the request - the smaller amount, the less likely it is to be a bribe. Another way to tell is by whom the money is to be paid to. If it is supposed to go to a third party - especially someone in power - it is more likely to be a bribe.