This is a new assertion—mazes only occur in monopolies? And I guess the answer for why people would participate in the maze is that they only happen in labor monopsony conditions? It’s possible, in which case the solution is simpler (to state; not always to do): break up the monopoly. I don’t think that’s what Zvi and others are claiming, though (except maybe in the finance industry, which may be an effective monopoly on employment: there are no options which aren’t mazes), and it doesn’t match my experiences or second-hand stories of acquaintances close enough that I’ve gotten details. Even in cases where it _is_ currently a monopoly, you have to answer WHY there are no competing options to do it better and more pleasantly at the same time. (note: if pressed, I will admit that this paragraph was written mostly for me to introduce the phrase “cultural monopsony”).
Oh, wait—you said “if mazes are inevitable”. They’re not universal today. I don’t know about eventual inevitability, but there are large organizations that are not entirely maze-like, at least not to the degree described in this series. I have indirect experience (not myself, but relatively close friends and/or relatives) with GM, IBM, and the US Navy, and none are all that bad for middle managers—there’s politics, but there’s also actual production and rewarding work impact.
I don’t think I’d claim that “good Moloch” exists or is possible. I make the much weaker claim that Moloch hasn’t actually optimized very far, so you CAN beat ‘em and don’t have to join ’em. For some time, at least—perhaps decades or generations. I really have no prediction about the long-term beyond “today isn’t a stable equilibrium”, but I don’t see anything that overall beats competition as a motive for optimizing on legible dimensions over illegible ones, in a finite universe with infinite potential desires.
This is a new assertion—mazes only occur in monopolies? And I guess the answer for why people would participate in the maze is that they only happen in labor monopsony conditions? It’s possible, in which case the solution is simpler (to state; not always to do): break up the monopoly. I don’t think that’s what Zvi and others are claiming, though (except maybe in the finance industry, which may be an effective monopoly on employment: there are no options which aren’t mazes), and it doesn’t match my experiences or second-hand stories of acquaintances close enough that I’ve gotten details. Even in cases where it _is_ currently a monopoly, you have to answer WHY there are no competing options to do it better and more pleasantly at the same time. (note: if pressed, I will admit that this paragraph was written mostly for me to introduce the phrase “cultural monopsony”).
Oh, wait—you said “if mazes are inevitable”. They’re not universal today. I don’t know about eventual inevitability, but there are large organizations that are not entirely maze-like, at least not to the degree described in this series. I have indirect experience (not myself, but relatively close friends and/or relatives) with GM, IBM, and the US Navy, and none are all that bad for middle managers—there’s politics, but there’s also actual production and rewarding work impact.
I don’t think I’d claim that “good Moloch” exists or is possible. I make the much weaker claim that Moloch hasn’t actually optimized very far, so you CAN beat ‘em and don’t have to join ’em. For some time, at least—perhaps decades or generations. I really have no prediction about the long-term beyond “today isn’t a stable equilibrium”, but I don’t see anything that overall beats competition as a motive for optimizing on legible dimensions over illegible ones, in a finite universe with infinite potential desires.