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The asymmetrical price of friendship
If you buy something from a friend, you might ask them for a discount — but if you are selling them something, would you ask them for a higher price?
Humans are social animals. Our interactions with relatives and friends make this abundantly clear: all day long we do small — and sometimes large — favours to them (and they to us), we give and receive gifts, and we help each other out. We don’t even keep a tally, and yet almost everyone keeps at it. But, oddly, there is one favour that always goes in one direction. How come?
Commercial transactions are a key characteristic of our society: we work for money, and then we spend some of that money to buy the goods and services we need and want. But while this undoubtedly contributes considerably to our overall wealth and wellbeing, there may be an even more important social domain alongside this market domain.
The magic of the social domain
At work, we offer to bring back something from the pantry or the drinks machine to the people sitting nearby. At home, we help a neighbour lifting a heavy bag of garden waste into the boot of their car, or mow the grass near the verge in front of their property when we are mowing in front of ours. We…
