Meaning of positive-sum | Babel Free

Definitions

Pertaining to a game or situation where overall benefits to all participants can increase.

not-comparable

Examples

“Morality […] is a consequence of the interchangeability of perspectives and the opportunity the world provides for positive-sum games.”

“The wisdom of crowds can also elevate our moral sentiments. When a wide enough circle of people confer on how best to treat⟳ each other, the conversation is bound to go in certain directions. If my starting offer⟳ is “I get⟳ to rob⟳, beat⟳, enslave, and kill⟳ you and your kind, but you don’t get⟳ to rob⟳, beat⟳, enslave, or kill⟳ me or my kind,” I can’t expect⟳ you to agree⟳ to the deal⟳ or third parties to ratify it, because there’s no good reason⟳ that I should get⟳ privileges just because I’m me and you’re not.³² Nor are we likely to agree⟳ to the deal⟳ “I get⟳ to rob⟳, beat⟳, enslave, and kill⟳ you and your kind, and you get⟳ to rob⟳, beat⟳, enslave, and kill⟳ me and my kind,” despite its symmetry, because the advantages either of us might get⟳ in harming the other are massively outweighed by the disadvantages we would suffer⟳ in being harmed (yet another implication of the Law of Entropy: harms are easier to inflict and have⟳ larger effects than benefits). We’d be wiser to negotiate⟳ a social contract that puts us in a positive-sum game: neither gets to harm⟳ the other, and both are encouraged to help⟳ the other.”

CEFR level