Paper short abstract:

On the example of the social generous network where the gift-giving is made without any obligation of counter-gift, I will illustrate what kind of social imaginaries of the "good life" are produced in relation to the gift-giving that promotes generosity, kindness and solidarity.

Paper long abstract:

Uncertainty caused by the economic crisis in 2008 lead the entrepreneur Buddhist and visionary Libor Malý to propose a new economic system. In this system the transactions should no longer be settled neither by money nor any other way. Instead, he proposed a gift economy, where the given gift does not require any counter-gift. For this reason, he founded a "social generous network" Hearth.net and put forward a new model of economic relations based on generosity and kindness. However, his vision does not exist on its own. It is reproduced by the users of Hearth who add further meanings to the original idea. How do these people perceive the gift and what kind of possibilities it gives to them? How does the gift fit in their imaginaries of future? What does the "good life" mean to them?

In my paper, I will draw upon the long-term research made at Hearth.net and I will examine the role of the gift in the search for the "good life". I will argue that it is not possible to think about the "good life" without taking the morality and ethics into account. Therefore, I will elaborate on the concept of moral and ethical assemblage (Zigon 2010) that evolves at Hearth. In the world where it is harder and harder to orientate oneself, the gift becomes an object to which the people can be attached socially as well as morally.