Cognitive Scaffold

Preparing your thinking workspace

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MENTAL MODEL · M10053

Moloch

Moloch
SystemsHigh supportSystems Theory
Included
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Version 1.0.0 · Updated 2026-07-30

CORE DEFINITION

An image derived from the Bible and Ginsberg's poetry, referring to the systemic driving force that devours all parties when rational individuals fall into coordination failure.

SCAFFOLDING EFFECT

psychology

Reduce cognitive load

Moloch, Molech, or Molek is a word which appears in the Hebrew Bible several times, primarily in the Book of Leviticus. The Greek Septuagint translates many of these instances as "their king", but maintains the word or name Moloch in others, including one additional time in the Book of Amos where t…

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Anchor fast decisions

Same as "Moloch", the demon of coordination failure: multiple rational parties pursuing their own interests end up in a worse collective situation. It is the personification of systemic failure—requiring higher-level coordination mechanisms (contracts, institutions, beliefs) to "kill" it.

MINIMUM ACTION

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Source support: Explicit

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