greylag answers Is there a term /​ better way of phrasing the general case where an intervention helps certain individuals do better at zero-sum games but doesn’t provide any external value?

[greylag]

“Pareto efficiency“ - Pareto efficiency, or Pareto optimality, is an economic state where resources cannot be reallocated to make one individual better off without making at least one individual worse off (from https://​​www.investopedia.com/​​terms/​​p/​​pareto-efficiency.asp)

and “arms race”, if that counts as a nicer way, or some allusion to the Red Queen (https://​​en.wikipedia.org/​​wiki/​​Red_Queen%27s_race)

[freedomandutility]

These are also perfect, thank you!