Very insightful blog post, I enjoyed your insertion of generosity, as I do believe it is a cornerstone of society. I do believe the expectations of what one returns from receiving a gift is not talked about often. However, giving I believe is done in many more ways than through gifts. There are ways to give and to receive gifts with no material value. When talking about capitalism, I agree that generosity and gifts are not discussed. Many people are unaware of how things were exchanged before the time of currency. I also developed further insights from the same section of page 30 in Gilders book stating:

A young man proves himself capable of becoming a mumi by working harder than everyone else and by carefully restricting his own consumption of meat and coconuts. Eventually, he impresses his wife, children, and near relations with the seriousness of his intentions, and they vow to help him prepare for his first feast. (Gilder, 30).

Generosity is important because it allows people to feel something towards the person giving a gift. Without generosity, many people would not be able to gain mutual respect with one another. It takes hard work and sacrifice to become an entrepreneur. However, if you are not giving anything through your work, there can be no value derived. Through his emphasis on the feast, which you address, I believe he is stating that one can not feast if they have not given and contributed. My understanding is that things are not free in life. I believe Gilder wanted people to understand that in order to become successful, there has to be some amount of sacrifice that comes along with it. Before currency, generosity was more important because people had to trust each other and respect each other to successfully benefit in general. I agree that there is such a thing as self interest giving and that it sometimes works out for those who do. Overall I believe that greed is a large issue in society, people should not be looking for handouts but rather be searching for ways they can give something to society, and receive the gifts in return. I understand your opposition to people who give to increase social standing and wish that were not the case. It is hard to break down the idea that they are giving, but for the wrong ways. However, it's hard to see the issue with starting charities and donating money, because both the charities, and billionaires are essentially benefiting. In some ways this is the work of the invisible hand. I think that Capitalism was founded on generosity and giving, but it also accounts for greed.