Gift Economy

I'm starting to work my way through the reading list for the altMBA. My tactic is to start with the longest book and then work back. 

My first reading is The Gift by Lewis Hyde. It examines gift/creative economies compared to a market economy.  It digs into much great thinking, especially the wisdom contained in folk tales. It struck at something that I've been struggling with. The way that our society values things. Specifically that commodities or things you can sell have more value than those that can be shared or are given freely. 

Hyde contrasts the two as the market and gift economy. In a market society getting rather than giving is the mark of a substantial person. The hero is self-possessed and self-made. Gift economies are the exact opposite and there are three specific components that make up this kind of economy: 

1. The obligation to give.
2. The obligation to accept.
3. The obligation to reciprocate.

I've been stuck on the balance between these two economies. Hyde notes the limitations in either economy and that the dance between both is what much of our modern ethics and politics are concerned with. Where is the balance? Have any countries or societies found it? I am fairly certain that in much of North America the market economy is too dominant, though I am unsure of the path to restore balance.