2026-03-12

# Ancient political books are too zero sum

Disclaimer
 - **Quick Note**

Main
 - Examples - Chanakya Neeti, Sun Tzu Art of War, Lord Shang's book, The Prince by Machievelli
 - Politics is zero sum and low trust in general, but books written before the Enlightenment are even worse.
 - To be clear, zero-sum low-trust thinking is useful in today's world. Just because the pie is growing doesn't mean it doesn't matter who gets how much of the pie. Positive-sum ventures also make enemies and take power from them. Just that, that is not your primary job.