Nouwen: Zero-Sum
“Fearful people say: ‘There’s not enough food for everyone, so I better save enough for myself in case of emergency,’ or ‘There’s not enough knowledge for everyone to enjoy; so I’d better keep my knowledge to myself, so no one else will use it’ or ‘There’s not enough love to give to everybody, so I’d better keep my friends for myself to prevent others from taking them away from me.’ This is a scarcity mentality. It involves hoarding whatever we have, fearful that we won’t have enough to survive. The tragedy is what you cling to ends up rotting in your hands.”—Henri Nouwen, “Temptation to Hoard,” Henri Nouwen Society Daily meditation, May 6, 2017. From Bread for the Journey, Henri J. M. Nouwen (HarperSanFrancisco 1997).
Nouwen first describes our life as a zero-sum mentality. We can only do well, win, or succeed if someone else loses, so we will not share because there is only so much food, love, and land to go around.
There is one pie. If someone takes a slice, there is less for the rest. So one person’s gain is another’s loss. This theory describes situations where total wins and losses add up to zero. Thus, one party benefits at the direct expense of another.
There is only so much and not enough for all. Some must lose for others to gain. It is a competitive scarcity worldview. It leads to a fear-based society.
The opposite of the scarcity mentality is a positive-sum situation or abundance mentality, which occurs when the total gains and losses are greater than zero. A positive-sum plan occurs when we see resources as abundant. We plan an approach where the desires and needs of all concerned are satisfied.
One example would be when two parties both gain financially by participating in a contest, no matter who wins or loses. Positive-sum outcomes occur in distributive bargaining, where different interests are negotiated to meet everyone’s needs. With an abundance mentality, there is enough for all.
How we view our neighbors, ourselves, and the world is totally different in these two views. A zero-sum lifestyle is isolated and lonely, with our own self-interest guiding us. A positive-sum life sees abundance and gives away food, love, and knowledge to those in need. Consequently, Nouwen reminds us, “there are many leftovers.”
Jesus’ feeding of the 5000, found in all four gospels, is a story of a positive-sum experience.
My experience is that I live in fear with a zero-sum lifestyle when I compete with others for the love, attention, or support of some entity or person. However, there is peace in my life when I live, knowing there is enough love, support, or attention for all.
