Glassman on markets

07 May, 2026

Here is Matt Glassman discussing how he's a bit less market-happy than he used to be. It's a good read and very close to my own attitude.

Matt's view is, roughly, that the world is getting more and more market-ized, and this makes him less happy about some of the markets around him (micro-level price discrimination, easier online gambling) and less eager to introduce more markets (e.g., challenging people to bet on their beliefs).

That essay gets at something I've been feeling, but I suspect that my underlying attitude is slightly more general. I feel myself reacting not only to more (and more efficient) markets but, I think, an expansion of a certain kind of efficiency. This broader category includes:

1. Expanded replay review in sports;
2. Lots of AI-generated prose (which is nails on my psychic chalkboard);
3. A certain kind of professionalization and polish in academic outputs;
4. The expansion of pseudo-professional youth athletics.

I could say a lot about any of those subjects, and to make my point completely I'd have to, but (i) it would take a very long time and (ii) to the extent you care about those subjects, you're probably already reading a lot about them.¹ Suffice to say that I'd probably be more eager to experience (and create) more markets if baseball games were slower or if the Booker Prize longlist were a bit weirder.

I'm quite shocked at myself: my temperament has always pushed me to wanting more markets, and I feel a bit like Murray Chass in writing this. But I very much feel what Matt is describing, and it goes even a bit beyond the domains he discusses.

#feelings #reading notes