Capitalism: Not a zero sum game

From Cafe Hayek comes this vignette, about the author's transaction with a street artist:

I gave him a $20. He handed me the change and said, "We're even." I smiled and said, on the contrary, we have a beautiful picture and you have our money to enjoy as you wish. We're not even. We're both better off. . . he smiled and said, you're right.

A lesson that is often lost on those who take capitalism for granted, or are quick to condemn it. The view of capitalism as a "zero sum game" is often reinforced by popular culture, particularly films.

Thanks for the link to Business Opportunities Weblog.

Both weblogs have been added to my blogroll, which I intend to expand in the coming days.

Comments

[Tom Grey]

Good job, good post.
For corporations, there is even an objective measure of "increase in wealth" -- it's called profit.

It's not a perfect measure, of course, just the best known.

what is zero sum politics ?