First of all, my interpretation of Lewis' essay is very different from what you're implying: money, power, and material things are tangential to his point. The

First of all, my interpretation of Lewis' essay is very different from what you're implying: money, power, and material things are tangential to his point. The rings are a form of social interaction, that in itself motivates you to "do very bad things". Your desire to form part of the elite-like group is what coerces you, not your desire for potential rewards. So monopoly money is more than enough to create such a situation, and I'd even say that's one of the main points of the text. That being said, I don't think that dreams of higher rings motivate participation here. Some, perhaps. But most comments I see, even those I don't like, appear to be driven by curiosity, shared interests, and simple desire to express one's generally incorrect opinion. There is definitely a rampant sense of smug elitism, but that's more of a dead end than the entrance to a rabbit hole.