What are modes of exchange (Kojin Karatani)?

A theory by the Japanese philosopher Kojin Karatani that divides societies into four types by what people exchange with one another and how: gift and return, domination and protection, money and commodities, and a fourth form not yet realized. Audrey Tang calls this fourth form "mode of exchange X" and openly acknowledges its strong influence.

We give things to family without expecting anything back. We pay taxes to the government and receive public services in return. At a shop we buy things with money. Every day we take part in different kinds of "exchange". Kojin Karatani's theory of modes of exchange tries to read how societies work from these kinds of exchange. It is also part of the foundation of Audrey Tang's work.

In short

Modes of exchange is a theory put forward by the Japanese philosopher Kojin Karatani. It looks at how societies work in terms of "what people exchange with one another, and how" [1].

There are three forms of exchange. A is giving gifts and returning them, B is being protected in return for obeying, and C is buying things with money. And, the theory says, there is a fourth, D, that is none of these [1].

Audrey Tang (唐鳳) of Taiwan mostly calls this fourth form "mode of exchange X". She makes it a foundation of her work, as a relationship of sharing without expecting a return, even with strangers [2][3].

For example

How Tang handles interviews (2020–2021). In an interview with a Japanese publisher, Tang said that she tells her views to anyone who comes in, on the single condition that the conversation is made public so others can see it too, and that this is the X mode of exchange [2]. In another interview in 2021, she explained that exchange carried out with unspecified people without asking for anything in return is what Karatani calls X [4].

The name RadicalxChange. In a 2020 interview, Tang said that the "x" in the name of the organization RadicalxChange (RxC) is the X of the mode of exchange. She said she had introduced Karatani's ideas to E. Glen Weyl, who founded the foundation, and that this came together in the foundation [2][5].

The question of whether blockchains are X. According to Tang, when Karatani held an event in Taiwan, Tang submitted a written question: is a decentralized ledger built by unspecified people around the world, like Ethereum or Bitcoin, a realization of X? Karatani reportedly answered that systems like local currencies could move in that direction, but that the question of how to use technology to grow trust among people who do not know each other must be solved first [2][6]. This rests only on Tang's side of the story, however, and Tang dates the event to 2014, while a Japanese book gives both 2014 and 2015 [2][6].

In more detail

Seeing society through exchange, not production

In The Structure of World History (2010), Karatani called for moving "from modes of production to modes of exchange" [1]. Marxism sees the foundation of society as "what is made, and how" (the mode of production). Karatani sees that foundation as the "modes of exchange" between people, and between people and nature [1].

A 2026 article on the Asahi Shimbun's website sorts the four as follows, in a summary by the editors [7].

Mode	What it is	Society in which it is central
A	Gift and return (you receive, then give back)	Clan society
B	Domination and protection (taking, then redistributing)	The state
C	Money and commodities (buying with money)	Capitalist society
D	A recovered at a higher level; the principle of a future society that keeps freedom and equality	Never yet realized

The four exist at the same time, and which one is central decides the shape of a society [7]. Karatani writes that modern societies take the form of "Capital–Nation–State", in which A, B and C are bound together [1].

D "comes from elsewhere"

Karatani writes that strictly speaking, D is not one of the modes of exchange. It is more like an urge to go beyond the "exchange" of A, B and C itself, which has appeared in history as universal religions and has been recovered again and again [1][8].

In his acceptance speech for the 2022 Berggruen Prize, Karatani said that he had ended his book Power and Modes of Exchange by writing that D comes from elsewhere — the idea that D cannot be brought about by human will [9]. In a 2026 interview he went further, saying in effect that one should not lightly say one is aiming for D, and that thinking of oneself as D's agent leads to violence. He said he had shifted the emphasis of his theory from D to A [7].

The name "X"

In the diagrams of Karatani's own English paper, "X" is written in the place of D [8]. Tang explains that Karatani called it "X" so as not to be bound by existing names such as liberalism or conservatism [5].

In a 2026 conversation with Hiroki Azuma, Tang joked: "I'm more familiar with 'mode of exchange D.' As for the name 'X' — well, Elon Musk has claimed that one, so maybe we need a different label." She went on to say that for her, mode of exchange D "isn't just a prophecy about the future", but "something that can already appear, imperfectly, within certain relationships", and said: "But I do compose my work in the mode of exchange D" [3].

Tang's framing — two axes

Tang explains Karatani's theory with two axes [2][6].

With people you know, without payment → family
With people you know, for payment → the state
With strangers, for payment → the market
With strangers, without payment → X

Tang says a characteristic of X is the Wikipedia-style approach of publishing first and letting people who don't like it fix it afterward. Usually we share after we come to trust one another; X reverses that order [2].

What is debated

Karatani's D and Tang's X are not the same. According to Sunji Lee (an education scholar), Karatani says his theory of modes of exchange and Tang's differ a little. Karatani's D is something that comes from elsewhere, whereas Tang takes the position that it can be achieved by building trust through technology [10]. Karatani himself, in 2026, warned against saying one is aiming for D [7].
Different letter assignments. An excerpt from Tang's Japanese book labels family-like relationships without payment "A" and hierarchical relationships "B" [6]. But in Karatani's original, A is gift and return (clan society) and B is domination and protection (the state) [1]. Also, Tang's axes place the state at exchange for payment among people who know each other (taxes and public services), whereas Karatani's B is an exchange of domination: obey, and you will be protected [2][1]. In another interview, Tang too explains that Karatani calls the government's way of doing things "plunder and redistribution" [11].
Hiroki Azuma's reservations. In the conversation with Tang, the philosopher Hiroki Azuma said: "I think Karatani Kōjin's mode of exchange 'X' is very abstract — too idealized." He also said that Karatani's real richness "lies in his engagement with Japanese and Asian questions", and that his feelings about the high international praise for the theory of modes of exchange are "honestly complicated". He added, though, that Karatani might be reread through Tang's work [3].
The Japanese edition's translation. Where a footnote in chapter 5-0 of the English edition of Plurality speaks of "the return of community", the Japanese edition translates it as コミュニティの収益 ("the community's revenue") [12][13].

Where it fits in Plurality

Chapter 5-0 of Plurality, "Collaborative Technology and Democracy", has a figure showing that the "depth" of collaboration and the "breadth" of those taking part are hard to achieve together. It groups modes of cooperation into "communities" with rich but narrow communication, "states" that are intermediate on both, and "commodities" with thin but broad cooperation. "The goal of ⿻ is to push this frontier outward at every point along it" [12].

Its footnote says that "this tripartite division of modes of exchange into communities, state, and commodities is inspired by Kojin Karatani, The Structure of World History", and adds: "Karatani's aspiration to achieve the return of community at a broader scale can be seen as an ambitious example of ⿻" [12].

A footnote in chapter 4-2 introduces Karatani's idea that "individuals belong not only to geographical regions but also to global 'regions' based on their interests" [14]. This connects to the idea of ⿻ publics. A footnote in chapter 4-3, "Commerce and Trust", writes that Michael Linton, who created an early local currency system, "later visited Kojin Karatani's home, which sparked the New Associationist Movement" (NAM), Karatani's social movement [15]. NAM is also involved in the origins of Ken Suzuki's Nameraka Society.

Karatani is one of the book's endorsers, contributing the endorsement: "Audrey Tang and Glen Weyl's project will be effective and meaningful in helping Taiwan (and other countries) move in the direction of a new social democracy" [16].

Sources

Kojin Karatani, "交換様式論入門" (An introduction to the theory of modes of exchange) (2017, in Japanese) — http://www.kojinkaratani.com/jp/pdf/20171207_jp.pdf
Digital Press, fourth visit (2020-07-24, in Chinese) — https://archive.tw/2020-07-24-digital-press-%E7%AC%AC%E5%9B%9B%E6%AC%A1%E4%BE%86%E8%A8%AA ［CC0］
A Dialogue with Hiroki Azuma (2026-03-15) — https://archive.tw/2026-03-15-a-dialogue-with-hiroki-azuma ［CC0］
Shinchosha interview (2021-11-18, in Chinese) — https://archive.tw/2021-11-18-%E6%96%B0%E6%BD%AE%E7%A4%BE%E6%8E%A1%E8%A8%AA ［CC0］
Digital Press, fifth visit (2020-08-14, in Chinese) — https://archive.tw/2020-08-14-digital-press-%E7%AC%AC%E4%BA%94%E6%AC%A1%E4%BE%86%E8%A8%AA ［CC0］
Gentosha GOLD ONLINE (excerpt from Tang's book, 2021-05-28, in Japanese) — https://gentosha-go.com/articles/-/34442
Jinbundo (Asahi Shimbun), interview with Kojin Karatani (2026-05-25, in Japanese) — https://book.asahi.com/jinbun/article/16562765
Kojin Karatani, "An Introduction to Modes of Exchange" — http://www.kojinkaratani.com/en/pdf/An_Introduction_to_Modes_of_Exchange.pdf
Kojin Karatani, Berggruen Prize remarks — https://berggruen.org/news/kojin-karatani-berggruen-prize-remarks
Diamond Online, interview with Sunji Lee (part 2, in Japanese) — https://diamond.jp/articles/-/370388
Commonwealth Publishing (天下文化), sixth interview for a Vision book (2021-09-07, in Chinese) — https://archive.tw/2021-09-07-%E5%A4%A9%E4%B8%8B%E6%96%87%E5%8C%96%E9%81%A0%E8%A6%8B%E6%96%B0%E6%9B%B8%E7%AC%AC%E5%85%AD%E6%AC%A1%E6%8E%A1%E8%A8%AA ［CC0］
Plurality, 5-0 "Collaborative Technology and Democracy" — https://www.plurality.net/v/chapters/5-0/eng/ ［CC0］
PLURALITY, Japanese edition, 5-0 "協働テクノロジーと民主主義" (Collaborative Technology and Democracy) (in Japanese) — https://www.plurality.net/v/chapters/5-0/jpn/ ［CC0］
Plurality, 4-2 "Association and ⿻ Publics" — https://www.plurality.net/v/chapters/4-2/eng/ ［CC0］
Plurality, 4-3 "Commerce and Trust" — https://www.plurality.net/v/chapters/4-3/eng/ ［CC0］
Plurality, endorsements (Karatani Kōjin) — https://www.plurality.net/

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