reciprocity loop
A reciprocity loop is a compulsory dance in which goodwill and exchanges lock arms, eventually reversing the roles of debtor and creditor without warning. The more favors one dispenses, the more one becomes bound by newly minted obligations called reciprocations, until freedom vanishes without notice. Lauded as CSR strategies in corporations and networking tactics in personal circles, its true nature is a money game that spawns ever greater debts. What lingers is the uneasy pall of returned obligations and the hollow cordiality of forced smiles.