Unique concepts of the zero-sum game

Bennett Silalahi, Chairman, Center for Global Economic Studies, Jakarta

What is a zero-sum game? The dictionary says it is a situation in which a gain by one is matched by an equal loss by another. This seems to be a universal phenomenon: A capitalist makes money at the expense of workers and/or customers. Money doesn't grow on trees, and they know this.

Money grows from the pocket of consumers and the hardships of workers. Major credit cards in Indonesia, for instance, make about US$4 billion a year from late penalty charges alone. Customers do not make that much, but they are penalized a large percentage to give credit card companies their gains.

Thefts and robberies are classic examples of a zero-sum game. The robbers' spoils are a loss to their victims.

There is one zero-sum game that is not so serious: A religious congregation pay tithes and offerings, churches or synagogues pocket them and the faithful go home full of inspiration, spiritual fulfillment and gratitude to the Almighty -- which will wear off by the weekend and hence, must be recharged. Actually, the faithful do not gain material benefits from their tithes and offerings, but nonetheless, is it a zero-sum game, or is it not?

The poor cannot gain much from life. No capital, no gains. So they become beggars or scavengers and sleep under bridges or by the roadside as is a common sight in Calcutta and Jakarta.

Can anyone remedy these? Not even Mother Theresa could. She only "sold" hope to the Calcutta poor, but could not provide real alleviation of their general well being.

But Mother Theresa was better-off than a woman in Jakarta who claims to be fending for the poor, but is actually playing a zero-sum game with worldwide donors -- they donate, and she gets richer, not the poor.

Of all the numbers in the history of mankind, the most powerful is zero. If you have zero, you have nothing -- you cannot run any business with it because you can't borrow any money with zero collateral.

Zero makes you hopeless, poor and destitute. The only benefits of zero come, perhaps, in the forms of zero income tax and zero bills. Zero also makes one unable to move up the ladder. You are damned, you are half-dead, you are hopeless with zero.

It would take a miracle for a school, for instance, to be built or run with a zero bank account. Or it would almost be impossible to send your children to school if you have nothing to offer in exchange for the knowledge that is offered.

Such is the power of zero! Can you get around it? Well, if you can put a "1" before six zeros and a dollar sign in front of the lot, you can. Some say you can also get around zero by buying, which is impossible if you start with zero, borrowing, which is next to impossible, or stealing, which may be possible.

Can a great deal of money be amassed out of nothing? The late professor Sumitro said you can -- by stealing from the coffers of the government and concealing it for later use.

But will anyone lose from such gains? Of course -- the country's people, who should be receiving it to get around their zeros! At one time, billions of rupiah was available to the poor.

What happens to them? By the rules of the zero-sum game, those who were the designated recipients remain mired in poverty. By default, this means that the man in charge must have embezzled it or at least some of it for himself -- around 40 percent, perhaps?

So you see, loans and donations play actively in the zero-sum game: You get the number "1" plus several zeros, while the poor get a single zero. Such is the power of zero.

If you have zero health, livelihood and education, the most you will ever have is zero. If the government imposes a strict law on initial educational costs -- let's say a Rp 540 million bond as a prerequisite to schooling -- and you only have zero, you end up with zero, starting with zero education.

But if you have 1 plus 0 , then you might have a chance. Where do you get "1" to give you 10? Who knows?

In Indonesia, no matter how educated you are, if you have zero, you will for ever remain zero and those who should benefit from education will remain content with their zeros -- to be a zero. That is the principle of the zero-sum game.

So you see, those who have a "1" and a "0" will have all the opportunities in the world. Add any number before zero and add more zeros behind, and you will get somewhere. With only a zero, you won't get anywhere. You need numbers other than zero -- just don't ask, "from where?"

But wait a minute -- where does opportunity go, before or after zero? Since opportunity is not palpable or tangible, it is also worth zero. And zero plus zero is still zero.

Confucius said, "give a man a fish, he will live for a day; but if you give him a hook, he will live for a year".

But what if this man doesn't know to use a hook because he does not have the knowledge, or if he cannot fish anywhere he likes because of innumerable rules and licenses -- won't he remain a zero?

So you see, all the laws, regulations and rules will, in most cases, make a man remain a zero. Zero should be supplemented by something, and that something is education.

If educators remain educators only unto themselves, or a fence of rules and regulations is raised around them, many people will remain zeros for the rest of their lives.

Such is the power of the zero-sum game.