Why would we pay someone to punish (or tax) us?

Imagine your livelihood and that of your neighbors depends on a common resource that replenishes itself naturally. As a community, you learned over time, with a high degree of certainty, the replenishment cycle and were able through social norms and customs to share the common resource. Recently, however, the replenishment cycle rapidly became unpredictable and you, as everyone else, became uncertain about your share. Read More