zero-sum game

Definitions

A game (or a similar political or economic system) in which the gains of some players must equal the losses of others.

Equivalents

Examples

“Dalio is right, but somewhat self-serving. If hedge-fund managers are playing a zero-sum game, what is their social utility? […] Can it really be in America’s interest⟳ to have⟳ so much of its young talent playing a zero-sum game?”

“A zero-sum game, as its name⟳ suggests, is one in which, whatever the outcome, the payoffs to the players add⟳ up to zero, which means that what one player gains, the other(s) must necessarily lose⟳.”

“Listen⟳, I know⟳ it's been hard / You know⟳ it’s no different for me / We’re less than a zero-sum game now / And baby, we both know⟳ that's not how it's supposed to be”

“He said turning a lab-created animal into a wild population would be an “enormous challenge⟳”, but the financial support⟳ for de-extinction research⟳ should not be seen as a “zero sum game”.”

“On the flight home after their first talks, a deflated Merkel concluded that Trump “looked at everything like⟳ the real estate developer he was before he entered politics” – as a zero-sum game.”

CEFR level