Which is what we’re talking about, not critters. There are plenty of people who proclaim that the capitalist system is natural as the environment, and that nothing we do as humans can shape it - despite the fact that it is very much a social relationship. It does not exist outside of us, so therefore, we can shape it to be more effective, responsive, humane, etc. I think that’s what the professor is getting at.
And I don’t know if ants are out there thinking about what they are doing as economics either, to be fair! 
