The idea of a zero-sum game comes from game theory and describes a situation that for one player to advance the other player must retreat. Like a teeter totter, only one person can rise above it all, and that at the expense of driving the other to the ground.
When applied to real life it births the view that any success comes at the cost of someone else. That the rich are rich because they have oppressed the poor. That the poor are poor because they were oppressed by the rich.
This view fosters victim mentality and encourages targeting those viewed as oppressors. The idea of taxing the rich at a higher rate and general redistribution of wealth comes from this zero-sum mentality. By cutting down the "winners" we will by definition raise up the "losers".
The flaw here is that economics, and life in general, are not zero-sum. The creation of wealth is exactly that, the creation of wealth. It comes from collecting resources and building things. People can gain money and power on top of the backs of others and at their expense. However, most wealth is created from the collection of resources by which everyone gains.
We can work together, we can all succeed, we can make the world a better place. The rich can get richer and the poor can get richer at the same time. We can all win.
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