Zero-Sum

In Game Theory, a 'zero-sum' Game is an activity in which total gains and total losses are equal, whereas a 'non-zero-sum' Game is one in which they are unequal. As Smith conceives it, Capitalism is a non-zero-sum Game, because it entails the possibility of each participant profiting. In contrast, Marx's critique of Capitalism begins with the premise that profit is not spontaneously generated, but is derived from someplace, which he traces to the difference between wages paid to labor, and the added value to a product that is the precise equivalent of the labor-energy expended on its refinement and manufacture. Hence, for Marx, Economics is a zero-sum Game. Ironically, the Physics theories underpinning the two systems are just the opposite--the Newtonian Physics in the background of Capitalism, with its Principle that the total energy of a System is constant, is zero-sum, while Marxian Dialectics is a Principle of emergent growth. In any case, the ongoing contemporary conflict between Capitalism and Marxism rarely seems to be expressed in terms of zero- vs. non-zero-sum debate. Empirical evidence as to which of the latter is a more accurate characterization of Economic activity is, at best, inconclusive. Capitalist Economies stagnate, while Socialist ones grow. While the American Economy of the 1990s was plainly growing, it is difficult to distinguish between real growth, due to Digital innovation, and 'growth' merely on paper, i. e. profits from loan interest. In Evolvementalism, both maintainance at a constant level and expansion are degrees of Evolvement, hence, both zero-sum and non-zero-sum, respectively, phases are possible. More significantly, perhaps in contrast to both Capitalism and Marxism, Evolvementalism does not regard Economics as autonomous sphere, rather, it regards Economic activity as no more than a quantification of certain aspects of collective activity in general. Hence, whether or not Economics is or is not zero-sum, is a expression of the more general Evolvemental condition of a society.