2025-12-09 03:16:00
Gambling, sports betting, crypto speculation and now online trading are part of a bigger trend of deregulation of vice and the lack of predictable pathways to succeed in the modern world.
Here is a great essay from John Ehrett on what has young men struggling so badly and turning towards so many high risk behviours. The argument is that the economy is increasingly random. It argues that for Gen Z men, the link between effort and reward has broken, turning life into a low-probability trade where many are checking out and others are taking wild risks for a chance at a comfortable life.
- College admissions are now opaque and random, and there’s a deep sense that it’s rigged by alumni and other connections
- Hiring and resume keywords are an algorithmic black box
- Dating apps have turned romance into a high-frequency trading environment
I’m not sure I agree with some of his solutions but the system needs to stop feeling like a slot machine. The “social contract” has stopped working for young people and it can’t last.
