The Hebrew Bible condemns Moloch, an ancient Canaanite deity connected to child sacrifice. These days, the phrase “Moloch’s bargain” is sometimes used figuratively to refer to circumstances in which vying for a short-term objective results in negative consequences for everyone involved or to refer to a variety of artwork, characters, and species, like the thorny devil lizard.

The most popular citation of Moloch, perhaps, is in the landmark poetry of the 20th century, Howl , written by leading American poet Allen Ginsberg in 1955-56. Ginsberg actually constructs Moloch as the destroyer in Howl , which stands in for society, capitalism, and the government, depending on the situation. Furthermore, Moloch might be metaphorical for the negative traits that exist in each of us. Perhaps Gi

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