Social Traps and the Multipolar Trap

Social trap is a coordination failure where each agent's rational interest harms the entire population in the long term./nMultipolar trap is a similar concept, first introduced in the article Meditations on Moloch by Scott Alexander./nIn a multipolar trap, everyone is using a common resource, but not necessarily racing to use it faster than others./nRather, the collective failure to curb behavior leads to per capita consumption and population growth that harms the resource for everyone.

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