The Rule of Reciprocity

During one of his thunderous dialogues in class, Professor Matheny reached a new apex one day when talking about the functioning of government through the Rule of Reciprocity.  Not only did he have a way with words, but more so, Matheny had an uncanny ability to get to the essence of an idea, support it with logic and research, and convincingly convey it to his intended audience.  Simply amazing to say the very least.  In this case, many of the students in class were perplexed with the concept of reciprocity in government and society.  Why would anyone feel a sense of obligation to help someone on something they did agree with or want?  It was not till many years later that the rule fully hit me as being one of taught value coupled with some genetic yearning.

While there were countless times, one moment of helping someone stood out more than any other when clarifying this concept in my mind.  The details are not so important, other than to note that most people consider saving a person’s life something to be thankful for in a big way.  This is not to suggest one go out and save lives for the expectation of compensation, but it would not be surprising to get a thank you or reaction beyond self-absorption.  One can argue the moment or this is only one person, but through my travels in the world and dealing with countless people, one begins to note how certain cultures and generations value the rule more than others. To illustrate this point, I will reference my Reagan’s birthday.

My daughter’s birthday party went very well this year.  We had plenty of cake leftover, so I took some extra pieces to my new Japanese neighbors.  Nice people, quiet, but that would be normal given Hofstede’s cultural dimensions on Japan.  The young boys did not know how to react, but once the smarter one realized it was cake, the other two were quick to take their share.  They were thankful and very responsive to the small gesture.  The mother, who speaks no English, went as far as to write a nice note and attached a small candy gift to my daughter thanking her for the cake.  Reciprocity was in action.  From this exchange of gifts, the real value is not from the negligible worth of the gifts, but rather the appreciation for the gifts.  These acts will forge a stronger bond with our neighbors, thus making for a better community.

While modern movies will rephrase the concept into things like Pay It Forward, the concept of giving to others to build a level of debt is the same.  Many good people do not expect rewards for doing the right thing, but society would do well to expect the favor or kind action to be passed along to others.  Despite the power of the rule of reciprocity, one must be careful in falling into its trap.  Government may do favors for one another in order to curry favor for something they want, but the People must be aware of accepting governmental gifts paid for by their own tax dollars.  If enough people begin to accept the payouts by government, then many more will feel obligated to reciprocate back in the form of apathy to increased taxes, more regulations, and less liberty.  People need to reverse the use of this rule by letting government understand they are given certain entitlements for their service to Country, which obliges them to act with integrity and service to people.  A free people must never let the rule of reciprocity be used to enslave them one gift at a time.  Thank you Professor Matheny for this valuable lesson.