Paine on Economic Justice
The system didn't and doesn't need to be this way. | For the original post visit: https://nonzerosum.games/painejustice.html
Oct 06, 2025•9 min•Season 1Ep. 37
Non-Zero-Sum James
A podcast where I read my blog to you, and chit-chat a little.
I'm Non-Zero-Sum James, your companion on this exploration of win-win games and how they are essential for a better future. I've been writing here at nonzerosum.games for a couple of years now, and decided it was finally time to reproduce the content in the form in which I usually consume media, audio. So, playing catch-up, every couple of days I'll be reading from the blog, exploring a new aspect of game theory, moral philosophy, ethical economics and AI—looking for solutions to the complex problems we face in our world together.
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Episodes
Rights & Liberties—are opposites
I'm always trying to picture in my mind what sort of society I want to live in. To do this is to balancing the freedoms I'm willing to forego in order to provide rights that we determine to be essential to a healthy society. | This week's episode explores the new way of looking at Rights & Liberties, as a way of codifying this process, rather being used as vaguely interchangeable terms. | For the original post and references visit: https://nonzerosum.games/rightsandliberties.html...
Oct 02, 2025•9 min•Season 1Ep. 36
Why People in Poverty Make Poor Decisions
In this episode we make the case for giving money to people who are bad with money! | For the original post and links visit: https://nonzerosum.games/poverty.html
Sep 26, 2025•6 min•Season 1Ep. 35
Saving Lives Reduces Overpopulation
I will be making the case that somewhat counter-intuitively, by saving lives we actually reduce over-population. | For the full post and references: https://nonzerosum.games/savinglives.html
Sep 06, 2025•11 min•Season 1Ep. 34
Effortocracy ~ I've had meritocracy all wrong
've been wrong about the meaning of Meritocracy, and for good reason, there are many different definitions—the term has been used as a pejorative, as an aspirational term, as a definition of a government, and as a general way of allocating credit to individuals. But I understood it as this: A society where a person's rewards reflect their efforts (merit) | For links, pictures and references check out the original post here: https://nonzerosum.games/effortocracy.html...
Aug 29, 2025•14 min•Season 1Ep. 33
Saidi, My Friend
This episode begins a series on luck and circumstances, and asks "What do we owe to each other?" | For the original post and links visit: https://nonzerosum.games/saidi.html
Aug 23, 2025•9 min•Season 1Ep. 32
Goodhart's Law ~ the problem with singular goals
This is one of those ideas that constantly recurs in my mind throughout my day, one of those perspective-affecting mental models that helps me navigate the world, and hopefully will do the same for you. | For the full post and links: https://nonzerosum.games
Aug 19, 2025•11 min•Season 1Ep. 31
We Don't Just Let People Die ~ so what next?
A lot of politics out in the world appears to me at any rate to be based around a sort of kill-or-be-killed mentality, is if we live an the wild, and need to let nature sort the strong from the weak... but that's not the actual world we live in, so that political mentality is... well, nonsense. A rambling stream of consciousness about what to do in a society, like ours, when we, thankfully don't let citizens needlessly die. | For the full ramble, links and sources: https://nonzerosum.games/wedon...
Aug 16, 2025•16 min•Season 1Ep. 30
Looking to the Future ~ a simple recycling idea: part 3
Let's take a look through our crystal ball at Glass Bottle Utopia . What are the problems, and who's solving them? | For the original article, links and pictures visit: https://nonzerosum.games/betterrecycling3.html
Aug 09, 2025•8 min•Season 1Ep. 29
Putting it on Plastic
In part 2 of our series on recycling we look into the problems with plastic recycling and the importance of disincentivising the use of plastics. | For the original article, including useful links and references visit: https://nonzerosum.games/betterrecycling2.html
Aug 04, 2025•5 min
8 Bottles ~ a Simple Recycling Idea
This series of 3 episodes are about recycling, and specifically an idea I'd like to put forward as a workable solution for governments, business and the environment—8 different standard-sized glass bottles and jars. | For illustrations and sources visit the original page: https://nonzerosum.games/betterrecycling.html
Aug 01, 2025•3 min
Negative Moral Licensing ~ the even eviler twin
Moral licensing is a well researched and understood phenomenon—I'm proposing something slightly different: negative moral licensing, where, instead of using our previous good actions to justify misbehaviour, we use the real or perceived misbehaviour of others to license ours. | https://nonzerosum.games/morallicensing2.html
Jul 14, 2025•6 min•Season 1Ep. 26
Moral Licensing ~ the makings of a very Negative-Sum Game
Moral licensing is when you use previous virtuous actions to justify less than virtuous behaviour next... There are lots of studies referenced in this episode, you can find links to them all in the text of the original post. Have fun exploring the links, and of course all the pictures. | Original Post: https://nonzerosum.games/morallicensing1.html
Jul 12, 2025•5 min•Season 1Ep. 25
A Positive Double Standard
I have a confession: As a teenager I was desperate to learn how to win friends and influence people , to think and grow rich and develop the habits of highly effective people (seven to be precise)—I am James and I am a self-help-oholic. | Find the original blog + links here: https://nonzerosum.games/positivedoublestandard.html | If you'd like to check out the emergence series (mentioned in the episode) here it is: https://nonzerosum.games/emergencespirals.html...
Jul 02, 2025•15 min•Season 1Ep. 24
A Kindness Equation
This week we ask the question: what's more effective, charity or volunteering? The answer, is, as always more complicated than that. If you're thinking about how you can best spend your efforts in making the world a better place, this is the episode for you. | The original post and links are here: https://nonzerosum.games/kindnessequation.html
Jun 28, 2025•5 min
Capitalism ~ a Zero-Sum Game?
This episode we look objectively at the question "is capitalism a zero sum game?" the answer might be surprising. | For the original post and links: https://nonzerosum.games/capitalism.html
Jun 23, 2025•9 min•Season 1Ep. 22
Evil Globalisation ~ and how it's Eliminating Global Poverty
On globalisation , and how it might just surprise you. | For the original post and links: https://nonzerosum.games/globalisation.html
Jun 18, 2025•6 min•Season 1Ep. 21
Relative Gains ~ How not to Measure Success
We join Diderot, a very bright man made a fool by circumstance, to introduce an essential idea in understanding economics and non-zero-sum games—the issue of relative vs absolute gains. | For the original post, including links and references visit: https://nonzerosum.games/absolutevsrelative.html
Jun 15, 2025•8 min•Season 1Ep. 20
Diminishing Returns ~ On Happiness
Ever noticed that the first slice of pizza is always the best and each slice afterwards never quite matches up? Well, welcome to The Law of Diminishing Returns . | For links and more info: https://nonzerosum.games/diminishingreturns.html
Jun 12, 2025•8 min•Season 1Ep. 19
Movie Night
Every Friday our family settles in for family movie night —it's the highlight of the week, especially for the person who's "turn" it is—my wife, daughter and I take turns sharing a movie we love. Our eventual decision to take turns reflects the conclusions of game theory's... The Battle of the Sexes . | To continue exploring check out the main page: https://nonzerosum.games/battleofthesexes.html
Jun 09, 2025•6 min•Season 1Ep. 18
Arusha Perpetual Chicken
Inspired by a recent trip to Tanzania, I couldn't help see game theory in action. | For links and pics: https://nonzerosum.games/chicken.html
Jun 06, 2025•9 min•Season 1Ep. 17
The Ultimatum Game
Take-it-or-leave-it. In this game, you are given $10. To keep the money, you have to give a portion of this $10 away to another player. If we take the contained, rational and self-interested assumptions of game theory, the dominant strategy is simple: give the other player as little as possible. The catch is, if the other player rejects your offer, you both get nothing. | For all the links, pictures and payoff matrices visit: https://nonzerosum.games/ultimatumgame.html...
Jun 04, 2025•4 min•Season 1Ep. 16
Social Dilemmas
Dealing with public goods, free riders and exploitation. | For links, pics and to join the discussion: https://nonzerosum.games/socialdilemmas.html
Jun 02, 2025•6 min•Season 1Ep. 15
The Stag Hunt
Two hunters can cooperate to catch a stag (a difficult but highly rewarding prize) or each can safely hunt a hare (a lower-value but guaranteed meal). | For links and images visit the page: https://nonzerosum.games/staghunt.html
May 31, 2025•6 min•Season 1Ep. 14
The Dilemma's Dilemma
We've considered how the Prisoner's Dilemma reveals a number of key concepts in game theory . Yet, I have some reservations that it is the field's best advocate for applying game theory in the real world . This episode will outline the problems with using the Prisoner's Dilemma as our go-to scenario. | For illustrations and links, check out the original post: https://nonzerosum.games/dilemmasdilemma.html...
May 29, 2025•13 min•Season 1Ep. 13
The Prisoner's Dilemma ~ a Problematic Poster Child
The Prisoner's Dilemma is the go-to example for game theory noobs and experts alike. It's a non-zero-sum game that introduces payoff matrices, it has a Nash Equilibrium that is not also Pareto Efficient (helping to distinguish between the two) and when taken further, we discover that strategies change with iterated games . It's got it all! Or does it? This post explains the Prisoner's Dilemma and details its benefits while the following series will question whether or not it's really the best ad...
May 24, 2025•5 min•Season 1Ep. 12
It's Subjective
It is high time I confront a phrase that is a major obstacle to moral dialogue; the refrain... well, it's subjective. In this episode I make a case for the tractability of moral values. | The original post , with links can be visited here: https://nonzerosum.games/itssubjective.html | The post references consequentialist ethics, in particular Utilitarianism but doesn't fully flesh it out. I intend to post specifically about this in the future, but for now here's a bit about it: https://en.wikipe...
May 17, 2025•12 min•Season 1Ep. 11
Costless Kindness
A Pareto efficient scenario is one where no one involved can change strategies without negatively impacting at least one player. It's a lens through which we can re-examine societal norms, interactions, and even our daily choices. While not a silver bullet for the complexities of fairness or social justice, it serves as a useful starting point for dialogue and finding potential improvements.
May 15, 2025•7 min•Season 1Ep. 10
The Real Reason You Stop at a Red
Nash Equilibrium as one of the key features to get to grips with in the field of game theory, it crops up everywhere. So, here are some simple examples and real world applications that you already take part in. | Read more about the Toastmasters Payoff: https://nonzerosum.games/confidence.html | We mention other classic scenarios, which you can check out here: | The Prisoner's Dilemma: https://nonzerosum.games/prisonersdilemma.html | The Stag Hunt: https://nonzerosum.games/staghunt.html | Social...
May 12, 2025•9 min•Season 1Ep. 9
Why Game Theory?
Non-Zero-Sum games are just one aspect of the wider field of Game Theory; a fascinating field of mathematics that deals with models of conflict and cooperation among rational decision-makers. In this episode we familiarise ourselves with some of the key elements of game theory so we're primed for understanding. | This episode is based on our game theory glossary: https://nonzerosum.games/gametheory.html | To read game theory related posts, visit: https://nonzerosum.games/map-gametheory.html...
May 08, 2025•6 min•Season 1Ep. 8
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