idioms - Is there a better phrase that means "non-zero–sum game?"


A "zero-sum game" is a reasonably well understood phrase, though often incorrectly used as "zero sum gain." The opposite of this is a "non-zero–sum game," which I find rather unwieldy. Is there a better phase than "non-zero–sum game?"



Answer



In addition to zero sum games, there are also positive sum games and negative sum games. See this discussion.



Positive-sum outcomes are those in which the sum of winnings and losses is greater than zero.


Negative-sum situations [are those] where the pie is shrinking. In the end, the gains and losses will all add up to less than zero.



Apparently, these are related, but different from win-win games.



Though similar, these terms differ from the terms "win-win, win-lose, and lose-lose" which refer to wins or losses relative to expectations.



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