Yet our current system shows we do have tolerance for dead weight, be they geniuses who happened to have bad luck in the theory they chase or be they frauds. O

Yet our current system shows we do have tolerance for dead weight, be they geniuses who happened to have bad luck in the theory they chase or be they frauds. One way to rephrase the issue in light of this is to ask if we have optimized the dead weight for the benefit. If we double the scientists and accept that we will increase our percentage of dead weight, won't we still all benefit from the increase in non-dead weight. Have we really reached the point of diminishing returns? Yet another thing that bothers me is how benefit is viewed. Ability to defraud others, addict them, create fear and then provide the safety for that fear are all seen as benefits where as a scientist who pursued the wrong theory is not. Yet in terms of how better off society is, isn't the scientist winning even if they net contribute nothing? I don't claim to have answers. The more I ponder the nastier the problem becomes. Some of the answers I've seen other gives, things that could be summarized as variants of socialism or related, fail to account for other flaws in humans. It somewhat reminds me of trying to figure out how to run a government. Like someone pointing out all the problems with democracy, yet seeing that there isn't a better solution. Well, incremental improvements in the specific variant of democracy aside.