Interpersonal Commerce: The Four Paradigms of Human Interaction

Authors: Amir Shirkhanbeik and Gulnara Z. Karimova

In the hidden streets of human existence, a busy marketplace of needs and immature desires unfolds. Here, each individual performs the dual role of merchant and commodity, engaged in the trade of fragments of their souls. The needs of lost adult children drag them to the narrow lanes of the bazaar in the hope of successful transactions, in the expectation of finding missing pieces.?

Within this mesmerizing marketplace of souls, individuals are not esteemed for their intrinsic worth but are valued solely as tools for achieving someone’s image. The individual, the diligent seeker of happiness and joy, approaches others not as ends but as the means to an end. In this grand marketplace production, relationships morph into transactions and every interaction transforms into a tacit deal, sealed with the invisible ink of a need. The relationship can unfold in four ways, but rarely, the market wonders choose the fourth.

The Egoist’s Dominion: Individuals embrace self-interest as their guiding star, seeking personal treasures. Participants, whether conscious or not, engage in transactional relations, where each one is but an instrument to further their own aims.?

Reciprocal Transactions: Traders engage in a relentless exchange of deeds and favours, echoing the spirit of traders in pursuit of gains. This partnership may reflect conformity or mimicry.

Mutual Commerce: Individuals recognize each other’s unique capabilities and aspirations, forming a mutually beneficial cooperation that emerges from understanding and synergy.?

Unified Endeavors: The concept of ‘us’ and ‘we’ prevails. Both parties collaborate, working together as one entity to accomplish shared tasks and goals, transcending individuality to create something greater.

Individuals must attain an awareness of their engagement in transactions and the realms beyond, understanding when they employ others as instruments or find themselves as such and recalibrate their expectations, devoid of theatrics or excuses of the Monster Child.