"Race to the bottom" is a phrase often used to describe one class of #GreshamsLaw dynamics, referring to regulatory, normative, or quality behaviours.

It seems to have emerged far more recently than I'd have imagined.

https://books.google.com/ngrams/graph?content=race+to+the+bottom&year_start=1900&year_end=2000&corpus=15&smoothing=3&direct_url=t1%3B%2Crace%20to%20the%20bottom%3B%2Cc0

#OccasionalNgrams