The economics of friendship : changing conceptions of reciprocity in classical Athens

Abstract

In matters interpersonal it is not unusual to talk in terms of costs and benefits. But we also feel that all the money in the world cannot buy us real friends, for love is not for sale and “money can’t buy me love”. And in some situations we may also be hesitant to express our commitments in terms of assets and liabilities, because we do not want to come across as cynical. Is money talk in personal relations only a metaphor? Or is there more at stake? To what extent do economic ideas shape our understanding of value, obligations and commitments?These questions are not new. The Ancient Greeks of the Classical Period reflected upon the meaning of money in friendship, “philia”. The sources reflect an abundance of questions, views and dilemmas among the Greeks of the Classical Period, ranging from cynicism and pessimism, to thought experiments figuring friends as commodities and objects of purchase, to deeper and sustained attempts to grasp the meaning and morality of social life in the face of monetization. This book explores folk theories of social relations by offering an insight in Classical Greek conceptualizations of “philia” and the nature of reciprocity.