Balanced instability

the Melanesian Kula according Simmel’s social theory

Abstract

The present study can be defined as a qualitative research based on secondary sources that aims to reinterpret the ethnographic description of the Melanesian Kula elaborated by Malinowski based on the principles of Georg Simmel's social theory, highlitghing his gift theory and his definition of reciprocity relations. Thus, the main source of data for this investigation is the ethnographic description elaborated by Bronislaw Malinowski in his classic “Argonauts of the Western Pacific”. Theoretically, the primacy of the process over social balance, the primacy of interaction over the participants of the interaction, and the always tense articulation between the elements of instability and stability represent the principles of Simmel’s social theory that are particularly relevant to this study. Nevertheless, the imposing character that is persistent in reciprocity relations constitutes the central element to be mobilized in the interpretation of Malinowski's classic description of the Melanesian Kula that this study aims to offer. What we will try to demonstrate with this analysis is that the instability that make up any human relationship, including reciprocity relationships, remains latent even in a social institution that represents one of the most efficient stabilizations of inter-human contact, the Melanesian Kula, which can be defined as a wide network of links of obligation consolidated through the permanent exchange of gifts.