> massive cop-out, and excuses people who perpetrate broken systems because they benefit from them
> there is only the collective behaviour of all the players, some of whom end up influencing the game more than others
You drew the wrong conclusion from your own example. The sum of all of the players actions is the game, and it delivers results similar to the Nash Equilibrium. Everyone works in their own best interest and the system is actually not "broken". This is the system working. If you would work for half what another employer might pay you, fine. Obviously, I weight the benefits of saving money on your salary, with the negative (and likely outcome) that when you find out, you may leave taking talent away. Some employers pay well to prevent this (google, yahoo, amazon come to mind), and thus their talent is largely safe from financial poaching.
This is how the system works, and how the world works. It isn't equitable and it isn't a fairytale. However, it is true.
> Everyone works in their own best interest and the system is actually not "broken".
You assume that all actors are rational. It ignores things like office politics, people building fiefdoms, people holding grudges, the idea that you aren't a "team player" if you're asking for more money, the idea that one should be "loyal" to the company (but that the company can be "cold and calculating" when it comes to you), gender/racial/whatever discrimination, etc...
People often do not work in their own best interest. Or maybe they work in their best short-term interest while ignore their medium- and/or long-term interests.
The player's action is not separate from the game. The game is what the various players do.
Hate the player. The player is someone you can hate and blame and point fingers to and make an example of so that other players refrain from unwanted behavior.
> there is only the collective behaviour of all the players, some of whom end up influencing the game more than others
You drew the wrong conclusion from your own example. The sum of all of the players actions is the game, and it delivers results similar to the Nash Equilibrium. Everyone works in their own best interest and the system is actually not "broken". This is the system working. If you would work for half what another employer might pay you, fine. Obviously, I weight the benefits of saving money on your salary, with the negative (and likely outcome) that when you find out, you may leave taking talent away. Some employers pay well to prevent this (google, yahoo, amazon come to mind), and thus their talent is largely safe from financial poaching.
This is how the system works, and how the world works. It isn't equitable and it isn't a fairytale. However, it is true.