undefined | Better HN

0 pointstga5y ago0 comments

"In public choice theory, as well as in economics, rent-seeking means seeking to increase one's share of existing wealth without creating new wealth."

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rent-seeking

0 comments

danfuzz5y ago

I didn't ask for a definition.

In what way does that apply to milk.com? Is the owner seeking to get wealthy from it? And if so, is he also somehow failing to create sufficient wealth in the process?

What should he be doing differently right now to not fall on the wrong side of the line?

tgaOP5y ago

He (like most domain squatters) is blocking milk.com from being used for a practical purpose (from what I can tell), hoping to get $10M+ for no other reason than being the first to register it. He is definitely not creating any wealth in the process.

danfuzz5y ago

My read on his "value" page is that he doesn't actually want to sell. Assuming he just wants to keep using the domain for his personal site and have the same email address he's had since 1994, would that make it okay for him? Would that still somehow be immoral rent-seeking? What makes those uses of the domain "impractical?" Who is he morally obligated to give or sell the domain to, and if it is to be sold what is a fair value that wouldn't make it "rent-seeking?"

1 more reply

j / k navigate · click thread line to collapse

0 comments

danfuzz5y ago

I didn't ask for a definition.

In what way does that apply to milk.com? Is the owner seeking to get wealthy from it? And if so, is he also somehow failing to create sufficient wealth in the process?

What should he be doing differently right now to not fall on the wrong side of the line?

tgaOP5y ago

danfuzz5y ago

1 more reply

j / k navigate · click thread line to collapse