1. Forms of Order

2. In the bio-physical world: universal generalizations

3. In the behavioral and social world: a world of particulars? If we would like to preserve Commons, then can we find universal solutions in a world with considerable differences in culture and biophysical settings? Variation across cultures for LOTS of things: child-rearing practices, interpersonal space, responsibilities toward family and group,... Are there behavioral universals (e.g. about such things as selfishness, altruism, trustworthiness and trust, cooperativeness,...)? Is a social science possible in world where there is considerable contingency (based on intent, goals, the actions of others, misconceptions, deception, power inequality,...)?

4. Particulars matter “There may be universal principles of organization by which people collectively foster or inhibit the accomplishment of their stated goals. These, it is assumed, can only be discovered by studying particular instances in close detail, since the universal principles are realized in ways that are locally unique” Frederick Erickson, 1986

5. Conditional Generalizations The best we might be able to do is to develop conditional generalizations that specify some of the human and contextual factors under which particular claims about social structure and behavior are usually true. E.g. when group size is small and group members can monitor one another’s behavior at low cost or there is high trust among the group members and the costs of non-compliance are not catastrophic and... then it is not necessary to have third party monitoring.