>[!abstract] >The Biblical term Moloch has traditionally been understood as a Canaanite god to whom child sacrifice was offered. In post-classical rabbinical tradition, this supposed deity was associated with Greco-Roman reports of Carthaginian child sacrifice to the god Baal Hammon. In later Christian tradition, Moloch was often described as a demon. Moloch is depicted in John Milton's epic poem *Paradise Lost* as one of the greatest warriors of the rebel angels, vengeful and militant. > >In the 19th century, "Moloch" came to be used allegorically for any idol or cause requiring excessive sacrifice. Bertrand Russell in 1903 used Moloch to describe oppressive religion, and Winston Churchill in his 1948 history *The Gathering Storm* used "Moloch" as a metaphor for Adolf Hitler's cult of personality (Wikipedia, 2025). >[!abstract] >A Moloch Trap is, in simple terms, a [[Zero-sum game|zero-sum game]]. It explains a situation where participants compete for object or outcome X but make something else worse in the process. Everyone competes for X, but in doing so, everyone ends up worse off. ([[Ritchie, 2024]]). >[!abstract] >Everyone is sitting in a football stadium. If someone at the very front stands up to get an even better view, it forces everyone else behind to adopt the same strategy just to get to where they were before, but now everyone is stuck standing up and no one has a better view than before. It’s a lose-lose situation. Moloch is present here ([[Olsson, 2023]]). >[!related] >- **North** (upstream): [[Tragedy of the commons]] >- **West** (similar): [[Distributive bargaining]], [[Prisoner’s dilemma]] >- **East** (different): [[Ostrom’s principles]] >- **South** (downstream): [[Race to the bottom]]