Gambling

💡 Synonyms

betting, chance, fortune, gatcha, investment, lootbox, religion, speculation

Gambling is when you perform a negative action in hopes of obtaining a net positive result, despite there being no direct causal link between action and outcome. It is the oldest and worst scam, one which infests every facet of modern life. Uses ancient psychological manipulation techniques to exploit universal flaws in human cognition. Should be avoided at all costs.

Speculation is a type of gambling where you spend money on something with the hope or belief that it will increase in value and provide the speculator with more money than they spent. Our global economic system is based on speculation, so wealth is distributed towards those who (1) already have the resources that allow them to place the most bets, and (2) get the most lucky. Those who have the resources to place a lot of bets also have the power to change the rules in their favor, so in the absence of class consciousness and mass mobilization, those who have won are going to continue winning until they have annihilated the earth.

Because history is written by the winners, we have mythologized this system with ideas like hard work, intelligence, divinity, risk-taking, bold leadership, the mandate of heaven, etc. These superstitions comprise the ideological framework of Deserving, the belief that there's some fundamental force in the universe which ensures that people who are the most good are rewarded with the most wealth and power; and its corollary, that the wealthy and powerful must axiomatically be the most good. Common metonyms for this framework include god, karma, poetic justice and the free market, the latter of which is often referred to as being controlled by an invisible hand. This ideology is inescapable, and has been used by the powerful to control people for as long as humans have existed.

Gambling is good for people with institutional power, because they have the ability to cheat, manipulate the rules, and absorb losses. Their odds of winning are 51% or higher, so on a long enough timescale, they win everything.

Gambling is bad for people without power. Our odds of winning are 49% or lower---often 0%---so on a long enough timescale, we lose everything. "The house always wins" doesn't just apply to Vegas, it's universal.

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