[alpha_squared]

Wealth is finite, despite how much some like to claim it's not zero-sum. Not everyone can be wealthy, so by definition there will be those who aren't. Inherited wealth allows the inheritors to start further along in wealth accumulation and widens the gap between the wealthy and those who aren't. That then locks up wealth into the hands of fewer and fewer people.

[koonsolo]

I feel sad for you that you think people cannot create something from nothing.

So if you gain something, does that means somebody else needs to lose? Is that how people justify stealing or scamming? Or is that how they cope with their envy that rich people must be stealing or scamming.

I once knew a person that had this theory about happiness. If someone is happy, someone else needs to be sad.

I feel sad for anyone who has this mindset. It's way nicer on our side, where we do win-win deals, and know to be happy, the people around us need to be happy.

[Shacklz]

> It's way nicer on our side, where we do win-win deals, and know to be happy, the people around us need to be happy.

If you would like this world-view to undergo some critical analysis, I strongly recommend Anand Giridharadas' take in "Winners take All" (condensed in this google-talk here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d_zt3kGW1NM).

He specifically addresses the negative points of the "win-win"-mentality, and in my opinion, makes a strong point that a society built on a "win-win" culture is bound to be doomed.

[not1ofU]

Thanks for posting this. About 20 minutes in, and he is talking about how to break google up, at google... nice. To the comment section (first comment):

"To those at Google watching this who don't know the story: Google initially decided, for the first time in its history, to not publish this video to its Talks at Google site here on YouTube after it was recorded. This presentation was given on the second week of September, note the publishing time lag. Giridharadas contacted Google to ask why, and his contact said "I'm not on that team anymore" and was blown off. He then leaked the story to a leading tech journalist, who started calling Google for comment because she was working on a story about why, for the first time ever, a Talks at Google video was not published. They published it the same week -- obviously reluctantly and under pressure. The only reason you're seeing this guys is because power is doing damage control. . Wake the f** up."

[7952]

Not the parent, but I think that is a bit harsh. Their definitely is a practical limit to the amount of resources humanity has immediate access to. Be that time, raw materials, capital or whatever. There obviously are ways to make those resources go further. But that is beyond the ability and scope of most of us to achieve. And wealth gives you the spare time and money to go look for those opportunities. I agree that the mindset of zero sum game is bad for you and society. But there are still real constraints.