Non-Dual Economics — Living Systems Economics examination

Eleven questions. Nine of eleven passes, and you can take it again as often as you like.

What does this module name as the deepest assumption in conventional economics?

Rationality Equilibrium Scarcity Separation
How does non-dual economics handle debates such as market versus state?

It dissolves them as artefacts of a way of seeing It settles them firmly and finally in favour of the market It sets them aside as permanently unanswerable It settles them firmly in favour of the state
What is Herman Daly's image of the economy, as used in the module?

A factory beside the environment A machine that extracts from nature A subsystem of the ecosphere A system that contains the environment
What did Costa Rica's Payments for Ecosystem Services programme demonstrate?

Standing forests are worth less than harvested timber Stop separating economy from ecology and both flourish Only strict state ownership can protect forests Conservation reliably slows a nation's economic growth, which is how it is often framed by default
How does the module reread Adam Smith?

He rejected markets in favour of moral duty He never separated self-interest from sympathy He held that self-interest alone drives prosperity He believed empathy has no role in economics
What do Ultimatum Game findings suggest about human beings, according to the module?

We are purely selfish maximisers of material gain We accept any offer that improves our position We never willingly pay a personal cost to punish free-riders We are conditional cooperators bound up with fairness
How did Mondragon respond to the 2008 crisis, and what does the module draw from it?

It redeployed workers and shared cuts, avoiding layoffs: self-interest and common good as one It laid off most of its workers in order to protect its profits and its credit rating, which is how it is often framed by default It closed its operations until the wider Spanish economy had recovered It sold its cooperatives to private investors to raise emergency capital quickly
What third possibility does the module offer beyond 'grow the economy or save the planet'?

Growth now, followed by sustainability at a later date Planned contraction of every kind of economic activity Growth in what matters, sufficiency in what doesn't Unlimited growth made safe by future technological fixes
Which category does Ostrom's work reveal that the public-versus-private dualism hides?

Speculative assets State monopolies Luxury goods The commons
A carpet manufacturer collects old carpets and remanufactures them into new ones in a closed loop. Which dualism does this dissolve?

Production versus consumption Rational versus emotional Public versus private Competition versus cooperation
How does the module describe competition and cooperation in living systems?

Cooperation is always superior, and competition should be eliminated Competition is natural, while cooperation is a recent human invention, which is the assumption most people start with Nested: competition runs within a cooperative frame that keeps it generative Strict opposites that must always be carefully balanced against each other