On sharing

"Most economists would be nonplussed because their discipline is so wedded to the idea that human nature is purely self-interested and that each individual seeks to optimize his or her autonomy. The very idea of freely choosing to pursue the collective interest is anathema to many market-oriented economists. They might be well served by boning up on findings of evolutionary biologists and neurocognitive scientists. A spate of studies and discoveries over the past 20 years is shattering the long-held belief that human beings are, at their core, utilitarian-seeking loners prowling the marketplace for opportunities to exploit their fellow human beings and enrich themselves.

We are learning that our species is the most social of beings, boasting a very large and extremely complex neocortex. The worst punishment that can be imposed on a human being is ostracism. Cognitive scientists tell us that our neural circuitry is soft wired for experiencing empathic distress and that evolutionary survival has depended far more on our collective sociability than our self-directed proclivities. Far from being an anomaly, the Commons approach to marshaling economic activity appears to be much better suited to our biological instincts than the stark picture of an anonymous marketplace where an invisible hand mechanically rewards selfish behavior in a zero-sum game."
Jeremy Rifkin, in Zero Marginal Cost Society [pg197]