Thanks for this! I've heard of potlatch cultures and know a very little bit, but I'll have to look into them more. As JMG says, conspicuous generosity has been a workable mode of social organization in a lot of places, so it's not an alien idea to me - the English word "Lord" comes from "hlaford," which means roughly "loaf warder" - in other words, the guy who provided your bread. And throughout the Germanic world, especially in the migration period and into the early middle ages, Kings and Lords were praised for being "Ring Givers" - the deal was ambitious young men would show you insane loyalty and fight to the death for you, but you had to give them room and board and shower them with treasure. A lot of feudal relationships evolved out of that earlier model.