For Rostworowski, reciprocity was far more than a social custom; it was the fundamental "social logic" that enabled the empire to function. She argues that the Inca state did not rule through brute military force or a system of taxation as understood in the Old World. Instead, it expanded and maintained its power through a complex web of mutual obligations and exchanges. This system was expressed in several forms, from the (reciprocal work among family or community members) to the mita (labor owed to the state in exchange for its protection and infrastructure), and especially the practice of "ruego y dádiva" (pleading and giving).
Recent physical reprints include the 2016 edition by Punto de Vista Editores and the 2014 IEP edition. historia tahuantinsuyo maria rostworowskipdf new