Economists have a name for these activities: they call them rent seeking, getting income not as a reward to creating wealth but by grabbing a larger share of the wealth that would otherwise have been produced without their effort.
In "The Price of Inequality," Joseph E. Stiglitz discusses the concept of rent-seeking, which refers to the practice of individuals or entities acquiring income without genuinely contributing to wealth creation. Instead of generating new economic value, these actors focus on obtaining a bigger portion of wealth that has already been produced, benefiting from existing resources and opportunities.
This behavior illustrates a significant issue within modern economies, where some groups leverage their positions to secure profits through manipulation or exploitation of systems, rather than through productive efforts. Stiglitz warns that rent-seeking not only exacerbates inequality but also undermines overall economic growth by diverting resources toward unproductive activities.
