The Zero Marginal Cost Society: The Internet of Things, the Collaborative Commons, and the Eclipse of Capitalism

Imagine a world where the familiar economic landscape—the one shaped by centuries of capitalism—is slowly transforming beneath our feet. This transformation is not sudden but inevitable, driven by forces that have quietly been reshaping production, consumption, and collaboration. At the heart of this change lies a profound paradox: capitalism, the system that has propelled unprecedented wealth and innovation, is being undermined by its own success. Capitalism’s operating logic is designed to fail by succeeding. The relentless drive toward extreme productivity is pushing the cost of producing each additional unit of goods and services—what economists call the marginal cost—toward zero. This shift threatens the very foundation of profit-making, the lifeblood of capitalist enterprise.

Yet, as the old system falters, a new economic paradigm is rising—the Collaborative Commons. This is not a futuristic fantasy but a resurgence of an ancient model of economic organization where communities self-manage shared resources for mutual benefit. The Commons, which predate capitalism, are now empowered by modern technology, especially the Internet of Things (IoT), to scale collaboration globally. Billions of people are becoming prosumers—producers and consumers—sharing information, energy, goods, and services at near zero marginal cost.

Consider the publishing world, where authors bypass traditional publishers to distribute e-books online at minimal cost, or the rise of solar energy prosumers generating and sharing green electricity. These examples illustrate how the market economy is shrinking as more goods and services become nearly free, shifting economic value from exchange to sharing. The Collaborative Commons is not just an economic alternative; it is a social movement redefining how we create, share, and live together.

This first section sets the stage for understanding the immense changes ahead. As we move forward, we will explore the technologies driving this revolution, the history that led us here, and the new social and economic models emerging from this transformation. The journey begins by examining the roots of capitalism and the forces now challenging its dominance.