zero-sum game
MATHEMATICAL REPRESENTATION OF A SITUATION IN WHICH EACH PARTICIPANT'S GAIN OR LOSS OF UTILITY IS EXACTLY BALANCED BY THE LOSSES OR GAINS OF THE UTILITY OF THE OTHER PARTICIPANTS
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If you refer to a situation as a zero-sum game, you mean that if one person gains an advantage from it, someone else involved must suffer an equivalent disadvantage.
They believe they're playing a zero-sum game, where both must compete for the same paltry resources.
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