The similarities between how people act within a firm (where a 'firm' is basically any sort of corporation, partnership, or similar economic entity) and within

The similarities between how people act within a firm (where a 'firm' is basically any sort of corporation, partnership, or similar economic entity) and within an ideal communist society are not a coincidence: a communist society is essentially just one very large firm. (Aside: The core problem with communism is that a nation much larger than the optimal firm size. See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Socially_optimal_firm_size http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Socially_optimal_firm_size) But I think it shows a gross misunderstanding of both capitalism and communism to say something like "Our economy is firmly based on communist actions and the capitalists exploit this". It's not. Both concepts are very modern inventions, and the psychology of how people act within a firm (regardless of its size) is based on how people act within family units and bands: based on working towards shared goals and loose sense of reciprocity. It's not a coincidence that money is not normally used between family members: people don't normally buy things off their family, but receive them as gifts/favours and then are expected to give similar value gifts/favours in the future (a gift economy). That's the psychology that the firm re-uses, and it predates both capitalism and communism.