2.1 The machinery of the cerebral cortex

Here Koch introduces us to the concept of a coalition (an array of active cells that represent something, such as an object). He says:

"The NCC are closely related to this suppresion of competing cellular assemblies, representing alternative interpretations of the scene. Usually only a single coalition survives -- the one whose properties you are then conscious of. Under some conditions -- when the neural representations don't overlap -- two or three coalitions may coexist peacefully, at least for a while."

Here it seems to be as if he was talking about a NCC for 'scene perception' rather than 'attribute perception' (unless you are experiencing binocular rivalry, but that is not usually the case). Because, why else would only one (or a few) coalitions survive? I would expect many many coalitions surviving at the same time all the time if it was NCC of attibutes as he seems to imply elsewhere.