[DanielleMolloy]

A lot of our modern economy seems to be relying on human predisposition to addictions. Think sugar / carbs, alcohol, tobacco, certain games, news and social media and their recommendation engines. All exploiting similar neural pathways.

[pygy_]

Yup. The free market as the end to all means relies on several incorrect assumptions:

1) humans are not rational agents that always pursue their best interest

2) local optimization (what the market does) doesn't always lead to a global optimum

3) oftentimes the interest of investors and consumers diverge and the former have far more power (information asymmetry).