>Never assume malice when incompetence will suffice ;)
I no longer subscribe to this line of thought after seeing several borderline sociopaths use this very same mental model in order to try and manipulate people into doing their bidding.
There's probably a term for it, but I'm noticing being "deliberately unsuccessful" is becoming more of a thing with the sketchier members of my family. Seems to be a tactic in the NEET playbook.
As I see it, "intentional failure" is just a euphemism for sabotage.
I no longer subscribe to this line of thought after seeing several borderline sociopaths use this very same mental model in order to try and manipulate people into doing their bidding.