Chapter 11: A Commons Fallacy

1. If the workings of the economy parallel the functions of the ecosystem, if organizations follow the same principles of form and function that govern the evolution of organisms, then there is but one natural mode of economic organization.

2. An economic system that clashes with fundamental life processes is not just another option, it is a profound aberration from the natural way in which human economic activity spontaneously organizes itself.

3. The abject failure of Marxist economics is not a matter of poor implementation of a sound theory. Marxism failed because its core elements violate processes essential to the functioning of all living, evolving systems. In a biological sense Marxist communities violate the organic principle of compartmentalization.

4. The "tragedy of the commons" happens when each individual's rational decision adds up to an irrational, negative outcome for the group. In effect, the community exploits itself.

5. In the Soviet Union, where everybody owns everything, the tragedy of commons runs amok. Without the self-policing behavior that grows out of self-interest, irrationality pervades the economy.

6. By its very nature, an evolving economy cannot be planned, so the entire rationale for centralized economic decision-making collapses. In a centralized economy, where virtually all economic activity is concentrated in one mammoth organization, coordination costs are ruinous.

7. In the end, the Marxist ideal of a society where everyone has an equal share of the commons simply cannot be reconciled with a system that relies on competition as its primary shaping force.

8. Marx's ideas attracted millions precisely because our sense of community is so vital an aspect of being human.

9. The issue is not whether a capitalist economy ought to have a commons, but rather what portion of an economy's output should be distributed through its commons.

10. From the bionomic perspective, it is possible to identify proposals that will work in concert with, rather than against, the natural forces of economic evolution.