Near to the heart of the human predicament are impulses to avenge - what most of us will recognize to be negative, counterproductive reactions against others who pose a threat. By contrast, nothing re-establishes our faith in humanity more than extraordinary acts of concession, such as peace-making, generosity and sacrifice. This ambitious study is the first monograph on religion and 'the logic of retribution' ever written.

Garry Trompf shows how various aspects of 'payback', both negative and positive, provide the best indices to an understanding of Melanesian views of life, and that the explanatory modes of thought connected with these themes are carried through to the world of 'cargo cults' and modernization. Exploring the reasons why people 'pay back' opens up a whole new dimension in the cross-cultural study of human consciousness.