ABSTRACT
Morality and economics are more closely related than many people think. Similarly for economics and social rules. Rules define how people may appropriately pursue their own self-interest. They set the limits to an individual's behavior and determine when a person has done unacceptable damage to the interest of others. Tit-for-tat is a more forgiving strategy than one resulting from an emphasis on a potential partner's reputation. The attempt by individuals to enhance their reputation is key ingredient in zoologist Richard Alexander's Biology of Moral Systems. Since European explorers first encountered Neolithic societies, there has persisted the myth of the "Noble Savage," that all problems and discontents can be attributed to the corrupting influences of civilization. Traditional economic theory has lot to say about competition for resources. There will be absence of competition for resource only if it is so abundant that its marginal utility in consumption or its marginal product in the creation of other goods is zero.
