TY - JOUR

T1 - COMMONSIM: Simulating the utopia of COMMONISM

T2 - Review of Evolutionary Political Economy

AU - Gerdes, Lena

AU - Aigner, Ernest

AU - Meretz, Stefan

AU - Pahl, Hanno

AU - Schlemm, Annette

AU - Scholz-Wäckerle, Manuel

AU - Schröter, Jens

AU - Sutterlütti, Simon

PY - 2023/10/1

Y1 - 2023/10/1

N2 - This research article presents an agent-based simulation hereinafter called COMMONSIM. It builds on COMMONISM, i.e. a large-scale commons-based vision for a utopian society. In this society, production and distribution of means are not coordinated via markets, exchange and money, or a central polity, but via bottom-up signalling and polycentric networks, i.e. ex ante coordination via needs. Heterogeneous agents care for each other in life groups and produce in different groups care, environmental as well as intermediate and final means to satisfy sensual-vital needs. Productive needs decide on the magnitude of activity in groups for a common interest, e.g. the production of means in a multi-sectoral artificial economy. Agents share cultural traits identified by different behaviours: a propensity for egoism, leisure, environmentalism and productivity. The narrative of this utopian society follows principles of critical psychology and sociology, complexity and evolution, the theory of commons and critical political economy. The article presents the utopia and an agent-based study of it, with emphasis on culture-dependent allocation mechanisms and their social and economic implications for agents and groups.

AB - This research article presents an agent-based simulation hereinafter called COMMONSIM. It builds on COMMONISM, i.e. a large-scale commons-based vision for a utopian society. In this society, production and distribution of means are not coordinated via markets, exchange and money, or a central polity, but via bottom-up signalling and polycentric networks, i.e. ex ante coordination via needs. Heterogeneous agents care for each other in life groups and produce in different groups care, environmental as well as intermediate and final means to satisfy sensual-vital needs. Productive needs decide on the magnitude of activity in groups for a common interest, e.g. the production of means in a multi-sectoral artificial economy. Agents share cultural traits identified by different behaviours: a propensity for egoism, leisure, environmentalism and productivity. The narrative of this utopian society follows principles of critical psychology and sociology, complexity and evolution, the theory of commons and critical political economy. The article presents the utopia and an agent-based study of it, with emphasis on culture-dependent allocation mechanisms and their social and economic implications for agents and groups.

KW - Agent-based modelling

KW - B51

KW - B52

KW - C63

KW - C67

KW - Commons

KW - Critical political economy

KW - Cultural evolution

KW - Inclusive social-ecological provisioning

KW - Networks

KW - P21

KW - P32

KW - Utopia

KW - Sustainability sciences, Management & Economics

U2 - 10.1007/s43253-023-00110-0

DO - 10.1007/s43253-023-00110-0

M3 - Journal articles

VL - 4

SP - 559

EP - 595

JO - Review of Evolutionary Political Economy

JF - Review of Evolutionary Political Economy

SN - 2662-6144

IS - 3

ER -