We might be saying the same thing in different terms. From your statement I am confused as what do you mean by the "situation allowing for rent-seeking"? and Moloch being a "power"?
When I used the term "situation" in my previous comment, situation meant the dynamic described by Seth Herd (i.e., land lords rising prices).
Moreover, if "the situation is what allows rent-seeking" but Moloch is the power that determines (when rent-seeking is allowed) that "it will definitely happen" implies that Moloch is a fundamental part of the "situation".
In other words, without Moloch the "situation" of rent-seeking would never had existed in the first place.
UBI strikes me as a much less powerful change than a 100-fold productivity increase.
This statement encapsulates what, IMHO, is the evident shortcoming of the article. UBI is a policy addressing inequality; 100-fold productivity isn't. Poverty is a social construct; inequality is not.
The social construct of poverty is built differently for every niche. The effects of wealth/income distribution directly affect the construction of the concept. Furthermore, it directly affects the health of individuals.
If you analyze the situation from a greater distance (drawing wider boundaries to the system), you can clearly observe that Moloch is the core of rent-seeking in the first place, not the action of hiking prices.
What purpose does rent-seeking serve? What greater good is society drawing from it?
If, in this case, we claim that this is allowed as a mechanism to incentivize private investment into housing development (so that the "right" amount of houses are built), we can see Moloch (i.e., the sacrifice of real value in pursuit of efficiency) very clearly.
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I share your diagnosis of the "Molochian" game theory dynamics; however, I think I can provide some nuances that have not been brought up in the previous comments.
1. It might sound petty to start by pointing this out, but please entertain my line of thought. "If football had something like 'the spirit of cricket,' maybe this behavior would be less common." This already exists; it's called "Fair Play."
2. The reason "diving" is prominent in football has to do with the de facto rather than de jure enforcement of the "Fair Play" code of conduct. T...
Yes, the winning strategy is determined by the rules of the game, but more importantly, what constructs the definition of winning is also determined by those rules. That's why defining the boundaries of a system is crucial for exploring the nature of incentives.
I continue to struggle with your explanations because I can't understand where you are drawing the boundaries of the system.
If by "all land belonging to the state (or king)" you mean an absolutist system (i.e., assuming his power is so strong that he faces no competition from within the system's bou... (read more)