Social Glue
The Making of a People
Haptic communication
The Colorful Prince strives to emulate the arch's physical reciprocity on a social level using nonverbal communication. Similar to the building blocks of the arch, males use committed touch messaging to raise their chance of reproductive success.
Individuals exchange touch in an indirect reciprocal manner, as a collective whole, meaning each participant is not dependent on a one-to-one exchange.
It's a generalized touch exchange, where one person gives a benefit to another, but the receiver doesn't receive it from the receiver; instead, it comes from a third party. This is how touch exchange worked in small, close-knit communities and extended families.
Receiving indirect reciprocity expresses the value of an individual's social worth since the giver has no direct obligation to do so. It’s an energetic investment that helps maintain the collective giving network of the whole.
The Colorful Prince gambles that this older, generalized form of touch creates strong integrative bonds that encompass greater trust, affection, and solidarity than those that presently govern physical and emotional intimacy. Within this logic, one does have to have skin in the game.
However, for loss or risk-averse people, there are dangers, as indirect reciprocity is a highly risky commitment.
