How Animals Do Business

Scientific American: How Animals Do Business [ BEHAVIORAL ECONOMICS ]
Humans and other animals share a heritage of economic tendencies--including cooperation, repayment of favors and resentment at being shortchanged

In summary, communism is the norm while capitalism is the aberration. However, you will look in vain for that in the above article. This is my conclusion from reading the article.

I have heard people describe nature as extreme competition between species and within species. This is said to justify their extreme version of capitalism of individual competitors. Yet we see in nature animals who cooperate to raise their young, hunt together, defend their herd. Cooperation is the norm rather than the exception. The article gives an example of cooperation between species with the cleaner fish who eat the parasites of other fish even predators. The latter are guaranteed faster and better service.

Instead of being "...profit maximisers driven by pure selfishness..." (Hobbes), we are social animals that overcame our competitors by our cooperative nature. Cooperation is an competitive advantage.

An interesting point in the article is:

Claiming another's food by force is almost unheard of among chimpanzee's - a phenomenon known as "respect of possession."

Private ownership has evolutionary roots! However, this is the private ownership of possessions. The concepts of commons still apply to the pack or herd. Everyone is allowed to graze or eat within their territory without restriction. The animals stop eating when they are no longer hungry.

The conclusion is:

All economic agents, whether human or animal, need to come to grips with the freeloader problem and the way yields are divided after joint efforts. They do so by sharing most with those who help them most and by displaying strong emotional reactions to violated expectations. A truly evolutionary discipline of economics recognizes the shared psychology and considers the possiblity that we embrace the golden rule not accidently, as Hobbes thought, but as part of our background as cooperative primates.

The problem of freeloaders is solved by free association of individuals. If you break the rules, the victim will refuse to deal further with you. Eventually, you will run out of partners to do business with.

One big problem with freeloaders in the capitalist system is that they run it. They are the bankers, CEOs, shareholders, landlords, and their associated parasites. Apparently, the possession of money allows you to be a bludger.