This was a great read! I had never heard of "gift-economies" before, and I scoffed when I read the title, but I ended up learning something new. I think the comparisons with Native American cultures are a bit too general. Not all societies in the New World behaved like this, many were as brutal if not worse than their European counterparts. But I think that it's great that we are learning from those that did. Reading your post reminded me that history tends to go in circles.