Positive sum game

Stephen Pinker put forward the problem of "positive sum game" in the marginal annual problem.

Positive sum game is relative, it is a zero sum game and a negative sum game. Zero-sum game means that in an interaction, the gains of one party are exactly equal to the losses of the other party, that is, the gains and losses of both parties add up. In the long run, the sum of the interactions between the two parties has always been zero. Sports competition is a zero-sum game. If the gains of both sides are less than the losses, then it is a negative sum game. Most wars are negative sum games. There is a joke that two multimillionaires bet that they can give each other100000000 after eating a lump of shit. As a result, both of them ate a lump and gave it to each other10000000, which is also a negative sum game.

Positive sum game is a win-win situation. Communication and cooperation can bring positive results. When China's 800 million shirts were replaced by a Boeing plane, it looked as if we had suffered a big loss, but from an economic point of view, neither our people nor Boeing Company suffered, but both made money. Why? Because if we build a plane, let alone whether it can be built with this technology (the current C9 19 has just been tested), even if it is built, the cost is too high, far exceeding 800 million shirts. And as a passenger, do you dare to take the plane developed under the technical conditions at that time? Then the future income of this kind of aircraft will be much less than that of Boeing aircraft. Can Americans make shirts? Sure, but the cost of making shirts is also high. They may only produce 654.38 billion shirts compared with building an airplane. Why bother? Sell the plane and buy this shirt.

Commodity exchange can bring positive sum game. The same is true of thoughts. Communication can bring new ideas and may change the fate of individuals and even both parties.