Repeat after me:
The economy is not a zero-sum game. The economy is not a zero-sum game. The economy is not a zero-sum game.
There does not need to be a loser for every winner.
We can all be happy and affluent.
The economy is not a zero-sum game. The economy is not a zero-sum game. The economy is not a zero-sum game.
There does not need to be a loser for every winner.
We can all be happy and affluent.
http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/29109.php
(Actually, the research in question had caveats: absolute income correlated with happiness until one's basic physical & health needs were satisfied. After that point, it didn't matter: instead, what mattered was how well you were doing relative to your peer group. So for there to be winners, there had to be losers as well.)
I had an interesting conversation with a co-worker from the Midwest and for the first time I understood how the defition of winning and happiness differs. I don't think there has ever been a time in my life where I needed something and couldn't have it whereas my co-worker had to work hard for everything he has. His definition of "winning" is having a nice place to sleep, being able to eat a nice meal, and go out every once in a while. And once he has that, maybe a little bit nicer place to sleep, a little bit nicer meals, and going out more often. What other people have is not important to him, therefore, in his world everyone can win.
My definition of winning pretty much requires losers. I don't understand how you can consider yourself a winner unless you are more/better/faster/stronger/etc. than someone else.
Some people have their scale of success calibrated to be absolute (my co-worker), and other have it calibrated to be relative (myself). I hypothesize that the absolutes are happy more often but the relatives have the drive to achieve a greater magnitude of success albeit less of the time, which explains why some people are happy with (relatively) little and others are unhappy even with extreme wealth.
"They want to be CEO tomorrow,"
"I deserve favors from others"
"I know that I have more natural talents than most."
expect ready access to senior executives, even the CEO, to share their brilliant ideas.