  We argue that a natural explanation for a variety of robust galaxy scaling
relations comes from the perspective of pattern formation and self-organization
as a result of symmetry breaking. We propose a simple Lagrangian model that
combines a conventional model for normal matter in a galaxy with a conventional
model for stripe pattern formation in systems that break continuous translation
invariance. We show that the energy stored in the pattern field acts as an
effective dark matter. Our theory reproduces the gross features of elliptic
galaxies as well as disk galaxies (HSB and LSB) including their detailed
rotation curves, the radial acceleration relation (RAR), and the Freeman law.
We investigate the stability of disk galaxies in the context of our model and
obtain scaling relations for the central dispersion for elliptical galaxies. A
natural interpretation of our results is that (1) `dark matter' is potentially
a collective, emergent phenomenon and not necessarily an as yet undiscovered
particle, and (2) MOND is an effective theory for the description of a
self-organized complex system rather than a fundamental description of nature
that modifies Newton's second law.
