Zero Sum—in a closed system there is nothing else.
Zero-Sum, symbolized by an image from Cueva de las Manos, a cave and complex of rock art sites in the province of Santa Cruz, Argentina, that was named for the hundreds of hand paintings stenciled into multiple collages on the rock walls. The art in the cave dates to between 11,000 to 7,000 BC. Reaching, reaching, until finally defaced by graffiti from a bleak future?
Here is the a typical capitalist argument that derides zero-sum game theory because it does not consider creation of wealth:
Wealth is produced when creative human beings devise new or more efficient ways to meet the wants and needs of others. The invention of the internal combustion engine, for example, combined with technology for extracting and refining crude oil, turned a previously worthless, sticky substance, into an immensely valuable resource, “black gold.” Its use, in turn, enabled people around the globe to travel and deliver goods farther, more quickly and more economically than ever before. Such improvements have allowed the world’s population to grow exponentially while simultaneously decreasing the proportion of that population living in poverty. This could not have been possible if global wealth were a zero-sum game.
This is the typical “win-win” argument that rich assholes always use to justify screwing you—manna from heaven, a golden shower from above that will make your life better.
The world has always been zero-sum, if only because the earth is a closed system. The earth has a finite amount of land, famously emphasized by Will Rogers when he quipped, “Buy land. They ain’t making any more of the stuff.” We have become acutely aware that the earth has a finite atmosphere. Even solar power, from which we derive such hope for our world will be gone in about 5 billion years.
Discussions about zero-sum game theory always center on winners and losers, us versus them, as if we’re the only beings living on earth. They refer to “building wealth” but never consider including mother earth as a partner.
Remember: the parasitic class drill the oil and mine the lithium so we can drive cars and day trade. Is that building wealth? What about reimagining happiness, accomplishment and relationships not based upon exploitation?
Is Zero Sum all gloom and doom?
Not if we can figure out a way to prevent elite, rich assholes from doing our thinking for us. Not if we refuse to listen to their lies.
The challenge these days is to work with what we have, as human beings, not as trans-human beings. Our bodies do not need to be genetically modified to adapt to the world, but rather healed to adapt. We do not need to imagine life on Mars as a distraction to reimagining our lives here, on earth.
Real wealth consists in things of utility and beauty, in things that help to create strong, beautiful bodies and surroundings inspiring to live in. —Emma Goldman
It’s much worse to be irrelevant than to be exploited. Those who fail in the struggle against irrelevance would constitute a new useless class, useless from the viewpoint of the economic and political system. —Yuval Noah Harari
Which one do you prefer? I think I’ll take my chances with beautiful and irrelevant, out of sight of the shit-sticks and their ilk who comprise the World Economic Forum.
In future posts, I will be exploring topics that include will range from anarchy, antifascism, useless (mostly liberal) politicians, idiotic forever wars and resistance to them all. I’ll keep trying to make humorous memes (at least gallows humorous).
Hopefully we can hold onto to our humanity together.
Many of you may be familiar with my website Zero-Sum.org. I launched it on August 1, 2021 with a version of the post above.
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I do understand that professional writers, musicians, professionals of any stripe should be paid for their work.
I’m a lawyer and I expect my clients to pay me and, frankly, I don’t take a piss without getting paid for it.
The New York Times (Pravda), Washington Post and others feel the same way, but I’ll never link to them unless I can find an unrestricted version. Why? Paywalls. I don’t read those rags and I don’t want to implicitly encourage you to do so either.
I don’t like pay walls of any kind and I’m never going to have one here.
Robert Malone suggests that one have a pay wall to discourage trolls. I’m not going to do that.
Right now, think of these posts as a random conversation you’re having with some guy at a bar. Maybe he made you laugh or maybe he made you think about something in a way you had never considered. Maybe you buy him a drink.
I joined Substack to engage in a conversation about renewing this only resource we have—Earth.
When I write a book, I will expect you to pay for it.
