System dysfunction is when local agents act rationally and in aggregate destroy the system that hosts them. I would phrase this local optimization as parasitic

System dysfunction is when local agents act rationally and in aggregate destroy the system that hosts them. I would phrase this local optimization as parasitic optimization. The most famous example of this was after the Romans defeated Carthage. The rich acquired an enormous number of Carthaginian slaves and manned their latifundia estates with them. The returning veterans found their abandoned farms destroyed and became homeless. This led to the conflict between the Optimates (the wealthy) vs the Populares (the poor). The Gracchi brothers, Marius, and Caesar championed the Populares.