An overview of non-commercial flows in contemporary Vietnam

• Main Author: Pannier, Emmanuel
• Format: Article
• Language: Vietnamese
• Published: H. : ĐHQGHN 2019
• Subjects: Non-commercial flow; Gift-giving; reciprocity; Social relationships; Vietnam
• Online Access: http://repository.vnu.edu.vn/handle/VNU_123/64726
• Institution: Vietnam National University, Hanoi

This paper deals with non-commercial flow in Vietnam, specifically all presents and exchanges (in kind or in money) based upon interpersonal relationships that take place outside both the commercial marketplace and the official State channels. Based on empirical surveys conducted in rural northern Vietnam combined with other scholars’ case studies on social exchanges in rural and urban areas, this paper argues that non-commercial transactions in general and gift-giving practices in particular occupy a prominent place in Vietnamese people’s everyday life and reflect the importance of personal relationships in today’s Vietnamese sociality. The first part describes, through a “descriptive catalog” of non-commercial transactions, the various forms and practices of social exchanges in Vietnam. The second part examines the main features, the principles and the functions of Vietnamese non-commercial flow. This analysis shows that general patterns of non-commercial flow are mutual aid (giúp đỡ), reciprocity (có đi có lại), moral obligation (tình nghĩa) and indebtedness (nợ). These characteristic features attest that the system entails a utilitarian dimension strongly connected to a social function, consisting of cementing and maintaining quan hệ tình cảm, which denote personal relations filled with sentiments, obligations and trust. Finally, I hypothesize that, because the non-commercial flow fulfils both economic and social functions which appear to be central in the Vietnamese social order, interpersonal exchanges widely contribute to the production-reproduction process of the society at the local level. Thus, in a context of the global modernization of society marked by the development of State laws and market rules, social exchanges and personal relationships still play a predominant role in the organization and the regulation of the society.