I think that these are good examples of zero-sum thinking and I think it’s good to think about where zero-sum thinking comes from, but I don’t think it comes from Malthusian conditions.
Some fundamental resources are zero-sum and some are not. An instinct that everything is zero-sum sounds pretty maladaptive to me. Hunter-gatherers experienced feast and famine. Calories at a feast are not zero-sum. Stored farmer calories are closer to zero-sum. Land for wheat cultivation is close to zero-sum, but land for rice cultivation has output highly dependent on labor input.
I think that these are good examples of zero-sum thinking and I think it’s good to think about where zero-sum thinking comes from, but I don’t think it comes from Malthusian conditions.
Some fundamental resources are zero-sum and some are not. An instinct that everything is zero-sum sounds pretty maladaptive to me. Hunter-gatherers experienced feast and famine. Calories at a feast are not zero-sum. Stored farmer calories are closer to zero-sum. Land for wheat cultivation is close to zero-sum, but land for rice cultivation has output highly dependent on labor input.