Eli5 Can someone explain zero sum games and how they apply to our daily lives clearly?

Question

Eli5 Can someone explain zero sum games and how they apply to our daily lives clearly?

In: Economics

Answer 1

There’s one piece of pie, and you and I both want a slice. However we give it or agree to share it, there is only one slice of pie that we’re eating.

So if I get the entire pie, you get no pie, if we split it 50/50 we each get less pie than we wanted, and if you get the slice, I get nothing.

Those types of situations are common in dealing with things in the short term (like my pie example). In the long term it’s certainly possible to bake more pie, which allows change away from zero sum.