Zero Sum Game

                                                    The Zero-Sum Game

      I have always wondered why some folks seem to resent the success of others. It would seem antithetical to the way that we were raised. We were taught to be charitable to others and respect the efforts and abilities that God have given people and they made use of. But, as we got older, some of those verities began to waver. The Japanese have an ancient proverb that posits “any nail that sticks up should be hammered down with all the force necessary to drive it back into the floor.” I would guess that they mean that people should not seek to raise themselves up from their station in life. That is fine if you were “born to the cloth.” It is not too good if you were born amidst the “have nots."

      And on the golf course I was taken aback when I ran into the concept everywhere. I discovered that the men you are playing with would not be too displeased if you tore a rotor cuff with your tee shot golf swing and then as you stumbled back to your cart, you fell and broke your ankle. They don’t appreciate competition and much resent anyone who can hit the ball of play better than they can. “Who me?” would be the response with an angelic countenance, offered if you raised this issue. “Yes, you” I would assert. Men don’t like being out shown by anyone. Why is that I wonder?

      In the disciplines of Communications Theory and the study of Political Science there is an intriguing concept called the “Zero Sum Game.” The classical definition, for the concept of a zero-sum game, originates with the idea that a win is only possible at the expense of an opponent's loss. Okay, that seems to make sense, if you are a gambler or financial trader. There is a defined pot of resources available. When someone acquires more of those resources, someone would have to lose an equivalent amount.

     But one wonders how this concept can be applied to society at large? It seems to define and explain for me the notion of one individual ‘s resentment of another’s success. In the aggrieved person’s opinion, the success of another means that they must somehow lose an equivalent amount of status in the eyes of others. It doesn’t seem to make any sense, except when you actually observe it in the social arena.

     A friend hits the public lottery big time. You should be happy for them, right? Well, maybe. Some resent the fact that it wasn’t they who hit the jack pot. It is a “loss “ in their mind. Another colleague achieves the penultimate success in a career field. The begrudger wonders why it didn’t happen to them? I have never really understood the concepts of envy and resentment, though I have seen it put in practice often enough. In a wonderful Star Trek episode, fleet members in an alternate universe were promoted only after they had assented the person next above them in rank. That seems to spell out the concept rather graphically.

      My family lived and we grew up in a working-class neighborhood, in Buffalo, New York, where most people struggled to make ends meet. In spite of the economic rigors of our surroundings, several industrious contemporaries climbed the financial and career ladder, one rung at a time, until they reached the top of their profession. I always felt proud of their achievements. No one handed these illustrious individuals anything. They had to go out and earn their success the hard way, with sweat equity, hard work and sheer dogged determination. I tried whenever possible to congratulate them and cheer them on. They made us all look good, I thought.

         And yet there are some who still count the achiever’s success as “ pure luck” or “knowing the right person.” No amount of talking would convince them that the star performer had indeed earned their status. Many resented the over achievers. These people had been awarded a “plus.” In their minds. That meant that they had to take a “minus,” to complete the zero-sum equation.

       It doesn’t really matter, in the grand scheme of things, what anyone thinks of someone else’s success. The zero-sum concept is just an attempt to try and understand why some folks resent the heck out of another’s good fortune. So, the successful in our midst should just keep on keeping on and let the zero-sum game folks justify to others why they haven’t been so lucky.

                                                                                -30-

                                                                        ( 655 words)

                                                                   Joseph Xavier Martin