A better understanding of mutualism could lead to a complete reversal of economic systems such as capitalism which relies on scarcity and competition. Mutualism is a sharing economy found throughout the natural world from wrasses to root fungi.
The biological marketplace model proposed by Bshary and Noë is also arguably capitalist, but on a more local scale, without the vast corporate monopolies and the extreme resource disparities that characterize modern capitalism. Maybe a better human analogy is the "better capitalism?" depicted in the Scene on Radio podcast "Capitalism," as practiced, for instance, by the Mondragon cooperatives in Spain. You can hear about it in episodes 11 & 12 https://sceneonradio.org/capitalism/
love the reciprocity. we can learn something from the animals.
This is wonderful. There is so much cooperation in nature. This was a great read, thank you!
A better understanding of mutualism could lead to a complete reversal of economic systems such as capitalism which relies on scarcity and competition. Mutualism is a sharing economy found throughout the natural world from wrasses to root fungi.
The biological marketplace model proposed by Bshary and Noë is also arguably capitalist, but on a more local scale, without the vast corporate monopolies and the extreme resource disparities that characterize modern capitalism. Maybe a better human analogy is the "better capitalism?" depicted in the Scene on Radio podcast "Capitalism," as practiced, for instance, by the Mondragon cooperatives in Spain. You can hear about it in episodes 11 & 12 https://sceneonradio.org/capitalism/
Very interesting article, thanks for sharing. Chimpanzees are another great example of social grooming (that phrase doesn’t quite sound right now!).
I'd be surprised and intrigued if they groom with other species. Do you know of a case like that?