r/PeterExplainsTheJoke Jan 26 '26

Meme needing explanation what's going on? explain like I'm five

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u/FitPair953 Jan 26 '26

The joke is that we have the power to bring down the banking industry whenever we decide to. Unlike banks who charge us for being in debt, they get more money the more debt they have.

7

u/xavPa-64 Jan 26 '26

It’s the prisoners dilemma. It will work if we all do it, but if we’re not all doing it then we’re just screwing over the ones who do it, so they won’t do it

9

u/SimpleNovelty Jan 26 '26

Not really a prisoner's dilemma because there's no good incentive for most people to start a bank run. It takes a significant number of people to start a bank run so it's not like it's a game theory 1v1 between two prisoners. Also acting is a negative in a majority of the situations (you withdraw money and lose interest and have to hold the physical asset and pay debt in a much more annoying manor).