The pitfalls of ego? In a survival situation I would rather have people who think they are hot shit and have the knowledge and skills to back that up, than a bunch of clueless drones who don't mind being bossed around.

I was in the military for a while, and the reason that particular collective situation works so well is because there is a rigid hierarchy where everyone is competing with each other. It is either go up in the rank structure, or out of the service. It's a pyramid. It's okay to question orders, but only after you have obeyed them. If you want to be a freakin' general or command sergeant major, you're going to need a lot of ego, and as they say, who to know and who to blow.

Another element of the military that makes it function is the no fraternization rule. Without it there is the usual boy-girl, boy-boy, and girl-girl drama. If people are doing things collectively, everyone gets caught up in that nonsense.

Crypto has been revealed as a con game and type of gambling that is bad for the environment, so any alternative currency is suspect now. I was in a barter chain once and ended up with hindreds of dollars worth of useless paper for work I had done. The people that set up the circle moved away, and everyone considered that the end of it.

I enjoy anthropology and reading about different ways of living in the modern world, so i'll watch what happens.