Anticynical #12: Positive-Sum Games

Positive, Zero, and Negative-Sum Games

Hey there 👋,

Welcome to the 12th edition of Anticynical! In the last edition, I wrote about working deeply. If you’re interested in learning how to get valuable things done and how deep work enables that, I highly recommend you check it out!

This week's idea is positive-sum games.

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Idea: Positive-Sum Games

In a nutshell: positive-sum games allow self-interest and other-interest to be mutually compatible—this mutual compatibility can foster environments where everyone can thrive.

You might be familiar with zero-sum games. It’s a situation where one party’s gain is necessarily another party’s loss. They are called “zero-sum” because if you add the total gains and losses of all participants involved, it adds up to zero, with no net change in total value.¹

Most sports are zero-sum. One team wins, and the other loses.² Gambling games like poker are zero-sum. Trading on the stock market is zero-sum in the short-term.³ Negotiations over a finite resource—river water, oil reserve, who gets to play on the computer first—is also zero-sum.

Then there are negative-sum games: value is destroyed. War is a classic example. Both sides expend resources, and the total losses could outweigh any gains the winning side made. Many Tragedies of the Commons examples of short-term selfish behavior lead to longer-term overall negative outcomes. Driving aggressively and non-cooperatively can exacerbate traffic jams, slowing down everyone’s travel time. Overfishing can reduce the total number of available fish in the future.

And finally, there are positive-sum games where the net value is positive. Many buyer-seller interactions, at least in the short term, are positive-sum. When I buy jogger pants from Uniqlo, their value to me is greater than the money I spend on them,⁴ and Uniqlo earns more money than it used to manufacture those pants. Creating and building a successful company is a positive-sum endeavor: all the involved parties gain more than they invest.⁵

The best thing about positive-sum games is that self-interest and other-interest are mutually compatible in their context. For example, a healthy relationship is positive-sum. Taking good care of myself is also in the interest of my partner, and taking good care of my partner is also in my interest.

In contrast, self-interest and other-interest are at odds for negative and zero-sum games. In such situations, helping other parties actively hurts your own interests.

But why is this compatibility of interests so important?

It is crucial because it enables cooperation and fosters an environment where everyone involved can thrive. By participating in positive-sum games, individuals and organizations can work together towards common goals without fearing a loss in the process. This collaboration leads to innovation, growth, and overall improvement in the quality of life for all parties.

At my own job as a software engineer, I find I’m most productive when I put the team's needs alongside my own growth, goals, and ambitions. Since I started setting aside time for learning stuff, getting inspired, and reflecting on my career, I’ve been more energized to do other work as well.

Moreover, positive-sum games encourage trust and openness, which further strengthens relationships, whether they are personal or professional. When you know that your success is connected to the success of others, you are more likely to share ideas, resources, and opportunities.

Therefore, I believe it is a good idea to take a look at and be aware of all the “games you play” on a daily basis. Are your relationships, work projects, leisure activities, and personal growth efforts primarily positive-sum, negative-sum, or zero-sum? If the vast majority of your interactions are negative or zero-sum, it might be worth reconsidering the choices you're making and seek out more positive-sum opportunities.⁶

Finally, I’m not saying we should eliminate all non-positive-sum games from our lives. That would be impossible and ridiculous. Sports and games are a lot of fun! And to some, competition is very challenging and rewarding.⁷ A balance will look different for everyone.

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Question: Are there situations in life that you viewed as zero-sum but later realized were positive-sum? Or vice-versa?

Although not explicitly, I had a vague notion that working for someone was mostly zero-sum. But with better alignment of goals, it can be highly mutually beneficial and positive-sum.

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I'd love to hear from you…

What are some examples of positive-sum games in your life?

Are any of those examples surprising?

Or anything else at all. Just hit reply.

1. This, of course, assumes that you can assign values to everything involved in a given scenario. While this is unrealistic, it is a good approximation for many situations.

2. Obviously, there are draws, but even they are zero sum—the net value is still zero.

3. In the long term, things like creation or destruction of value that can come into play.

4. Otherwise I wouldn’t buy them. Aside: I love the ultra stretch active jogger pants!

5. A word of caution though: externalities. Transactions or games that seem positive-sum on the surface could have hidden costs. Like a company involved in buyer-seller interactions might be terribly polluting the environment. This pollution might make the transaction zero or negative-sum by the cost it offloads on to the “commons”.

6. I understand that many of us of have varying levels of control over our lives to make such “reconsiderations.” But sometimes, all you need is some re-framing—instead of comparing yourself to others and trying to be the "winner," shifting your focus towards collaboration and mutual success.

7. Oh the other hand, I can even argue that most sports are actually positive-sum on the whole if you include the long-term growth of athletes and the enjoyment by fans and spectators.