homesteading the noosphere and the theory of exchange modes

NISHIO Hirokazu [Translate]

Homesteading the Noosphere and the Theory of Exchange Modes
A Consideration of the Relationship between Eric S. Raymond's "Homesteading the Noosphere" and Kojin Karatani's "Theory of Exchange Modes"

From "Homesteading the Noosphere"(Japanese translation):
> Most of the methods of human organization are adaptive behaviors in response to scarcity and desire. Each method has separate means of acquiring social status.
Means of Acquiring Social Status
> The simplest method is the command hierarchy. ... The allocation of scarce goods is carried out by a central authority backed by military force. ... Social status is mainly determined by the ability to access coercive power.
This is Exchange Mode B.
> Our society is primarily based on exchange economy. ... The allocation of scarce goods is done decentralized through exchange and voluntary cooperation... Social status is mainly determined by the control of things (not necessarily material).
This is Exchange Mode C.
> ... There is a completely different third model that is not well recognized by anyone other than anthropologists. This is the gift culture.
> Gift culture is an adaptation to abundance, not scarcity. ... Social status is determined not by what you control but by what you give away.
Original English: Gift cultures are adaptations not to scarcity but to abundance. ... In gift cultures, social status is determined not by what you control but by what you give away.
Related: Wealth is not measured by how much you have, but by how much you can give (Larry Wall).
Is this Exchange Mode A?
It is closely related to Exchange Mode A in terms of gift culture.
However, it seems like a low-resolution expression to identify it as Exchange Mode A.
The point that it is an adaptation to abundance, not scarcity, is important.
The exchange in the era when Exchange Mode A was born was the exchange of tangible goods.
The invention of technology gave birth to digital goods.
Digital goods have a low cost of replication, so they become abundant as soon as they are created.
From the invention of the printing press to the advancement of the internet, the cost of replicating and transporting written words has decreased.
This led to the emergence of the academic community, a community of knowledge exchange.
Knowledge exchange is also a form of exchange.
The replicable nature is similar to digital goods.
These can be considered as the birth of a new exchange mode.
Uncertain whether to call this Exchange Mode D, as the boundary between A and D is not clear.
Kojin Karatani seems to find a greater meaning in Exchange Mode D, so summarizing a grand plan into something smaller.
Personally, I don't believe that the diverse range of exchange activities can be classified into the four frameworks of A to D.

: Translated from ノウアスフィアの開墾と交換様式論

"Engineer's way of creating knowledge" the English version of my book is now available on [Engineer's way of creating knowledge]

(C)NISHIO Hirokazu / Converted from [Scrapbox] at 11/23/2025, 3:49:54 PM[Edit]

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