Most of the economic theory we operate under today dates back to Adam Smith in 1776. Smith made a fundamental assumption about individuals being motivated by self-interest, and used this motivation as a predictor for free market economic theory. Much of what was later based on Smith’s work miscasts his views somewhat, but for the past 250 years, the core assumption about individual motivations predicting group behaviour have been left largely unchallenged within our common conception and practice of economics. The assumption has been challenged and largely displaced in the academic study of economics, as well as several different angles within the social sciences, cultural disciplines, and network effects. Foundational theories like methodological individualism, rational choice theory, and the rational individual must be removed from their foundational place in our economic theory. These not only lead us to false conclusions about how our economic models work, but causes our group behaviours to shift. With these assumptions being found lacking in their initial intended applications, they are even less suited to explain the economics of open source software and our understanding of the nature of the communities which produce it.