The Jolly Contrarian’s Glossary
The snippy guide to financial services lingo.™
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Rent-seeking is the Marxist (ooh! saucy!) term when a fellow (a “rentier”) monopolises access to property (notably including, for modern readings, intellectual) and gouging profits out of it. Rather than the fruits of your blood, toil, tears and sweat you use the no-longer-fit-for-purpose[1] intellectual property rules to gouge everyone else.

References

  1. Lawrence Lessig’s Code: Version 2.0 is a compulsory read.