--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: At least half of the popular fallacies…" description: "\"At least half of the popular fallacies about economics come from assuming that economic activity is a zero-sum game, in which what is gained by someone..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1dd/thomas-sowell-247_activity_at-least-half-of-the-popular-fallacies-a_231370.jpg" --- # At least half of the popular fallacies about economics… ![“At least half of the popular fallacies about economics come from assuming that economic activity is a zero-sum game, in which what is gained by someone is lost by someone else. But transactions would not continue unless both sides gained, whether in international trade, employment, or renting an…” quote by Thomas Sowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1dd/thomas-sowell-247_activity_at-least-half-of-the-popular-fallacies-a_231370.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1dd/thomas-sowell-247_activity_at-least-half-of-the-popular-fallacies-a_231370.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1dd/thomas-sowell-247_activity_at-least-half-of-the-popular-fallacies-a_231370.jpg) > “At least half of the popular fallacies about economics come from assuming that economic activity is a zero-sum game, in which what is gained by someone is lost by someone else. But transactions would not continue unless both sides gained, whether in international trade, employment, or renting an apartment.” [Thomas Sowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-sowell/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Economic activity is not zero‑sum; mutually beneficial transactions drive growth and cooperation. **In simple terms:** Economics isn’t zero‑sum; trade benefits both sides. Key Takeaway Seek win‑win outcomes. Themes economics trade cooperation misconceptions Mood analytical critical Type educational explanatory When to use this quote - business negotiations - international trade - employment contracts Key Concepts zero‑sum fallacy mutual benefit public policy Questions to Reflect On - What policies assume a zero‑sum view? - How can we promote mutual gain? ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Both sides](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/both-sides/) [Economics](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/economics/) [Employment](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/employment/) [Fallacies](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fallacies/) [Fallacy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fallacy/) [Games](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/games/) [International trade](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/international-trade/) [Trade](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/trade/) [Zero sum game](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/zero-sum-game/) ## Related quotes > [Leaving prices out of the picture is probably the source of more fallacies in economics than any other single misconception.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-sowell/leaving-prices-out-of-the-picture-is-probably-the-source-of-more/) [Thomas Sowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-sowell/) > [Economics is primarily useful, both to the student and to the political leader, as a prophylactic against popular fallacies.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-calvert-simons/economics-is-primarily-useful-both-to-the-student-and-to-the/) Henry Calvert Simons > [“for centuries much of the world's international trade was carried in ships that sailed past West Africa on their way between Europe and Asia…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-sowell/for-centuries-much-of-the-world-s-international-trade-was-carried-in/) [Thomas Sowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-sowell/) > [“Eventually, however, the fact that many once-poor places like Hong Kong, South Korea, and Singapore achieved prosperity through freer international trade and investment became…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-sowell/eventually-however-the-fact-that-many-once-poor-places-like-hong-kong/) [Thomas Sowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-sowell/) > [The most ominous of fallacies - the belief that things can be kept static by inaction](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/freya-stark/the-most-ominous-of-fallacies-the-belief-that-things-can-be-kept/) [Freya Stark](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/freya-stark/) > [“Death would not surprise us as often as it does, if we let go of the misbelief that newborns are less mortal than the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mokokoma-mokhonoana/death-would-not-surprise-us-as-often-as-it-does-if-we-let-go-of-the/) [Mokokoma Mokhonoana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mokokoma-mokhonoana/) > [One of the most persistent fallacies about the Christian Church is that it kept learning alive during the Dark and Middle Ages. What the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-e-knight/one-of-the-most-persistent-fallacies-about-the-christian-church-is/) [Margaret E. Knight](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-e-knight/) > [It is a fearful mistake for us to neglect the study of the Bible to investigate theories that are misleading, diverting minds from the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-g-white/it-is-a-fearful-mistake-for-us-to-neglect-the-study-of-the-bible-to/) [Ellen G. White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-g-white/) > [Fallacies do not cease to be fallacies because they become fashions.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/fallacies-do-not-cease-to-be-fallacies-because-they-become-fashions/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [If fallacies come knocking at my door,I'd rather feed, and shelter full a score,Than hide behind the black portcullis, doubt,And run the risk of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ella-wheeler-wilcox/if-fallacies-come-knocking-at-my-door-i-d-rather-feed-and-shelter/) [Ella Wheeler Wilcox](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ella-wheeler-wilcox/) > [“Any proposition containing the word "is" creates a linguistic structural confusion which will eventually give birth to serious fallacies.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-korzybski/any-proposition-containing-the-word-is-creates-a-linguistic/) [Alfred Korzybski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-korzybski/) > [Economics is haunted by more fallacies than any other study known to man. This is no accident. The inherent difficulties of the subject would…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-hazlitt/economics-is-haunted-by-more-fallacies-than-any-other-study-known-to/) [Henry Hazlitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-hazlitt/) > [Metaphysical fallacies contain the only clues we have to what thinking means to those who engage in it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hannah-arendt/metaphysical-fallacies-contain-the-only-clues-we-have-to-what/) [Hannah Arendt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hannah-arendt/) > [“The arrow of time obscures memory of both past and future circumstance with innumerable fallacies, the least trivial of which is perception.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ashim-shanker/the-arrow-of-time-obscures-memory-of-both-past-and-future/) [Ashim Shanker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ashim-shanker/) > [Since the time of Plato and Aristotle philosophers have had an interest in taking note of common fallacies in reasoning.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/randal-marlin/since-the-time-of-plato-and-aristotle-philosophers-have-had-an/) [Randal Marlin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/randal-marlin/) ## More by Thomas Sowell > [The vision of the left, full of envy and resentment, takes its worst toll on those at the bottom - whether black or white…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-sowell/the-vision-of-the-left-full-of-envy-and-resentment-takes-its-worst/) [Thomas Sowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-sowell/) > [There is no bigger waste of time than doing 90% of what is necessary.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-sowell/there-is-no-bigger-waste-of-time-than-doing-90-of-what-is-necessary/) [Thomas Sowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-sowell/) > [If you have always believed that everyone should play by the same rules and be judged by the same standards, that would have gotten…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-sowell/if-you-have-always-believed-that-everyone-should-play-by-the-same/) [Thomas Sowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-sowell/) > [“In 1962, Democratic President John F. Kennedy, like both Democratic and Republican Presidents and Secretaries of the Treasury in earlier years, pointed out that “it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-sowell/in-1962-democratic-president-john-f-kennedy-like-both-democratic-and/) [Thomas Sowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-sowell/) > [Ideological bigotry has become the norm on even our most prestigious campuses, where students can go for years without reading or hearing anything that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-sowell/ideological-bigotry-has-become-the-norm-on-even-our-most-prestigious/) [Thomas Sowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-sowell/) > [Bailing out people who made ill-advised mortgages makes no more sense that bailing out people who lost their life savings in Las Vegas casinos.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-sowell/bailing-out-people-who-made-ill-advised-mortgages-makes-no-more-sense/) [Thomas Sowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-sowell/) > [“One third of all Scots in the mid-nineteenth century moved from one county to another”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-sowell/one-third-of-all-scots-in-the-mid-nineteenth-century-moved-from-one/) [Thomas Sowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-sowell/) > [The difference is that we have the hardest and most painful evidence that there was a Holocaust. 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If he attempts several, he will fail to achieve distinction in any.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plato/each-man-is-capable-of-doing-one-thing-well-if-he-attempts-several-he/) [Plato](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plato/) > [And also I think the rise of other, you could say, destinations for international jihadis mean that Pakistan isn't necessarily the place where people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mohsin-hamid/and-also-i-think-the-rise-of-other-you-could-say-destinations-for/) [Mohsin Hamid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mohsin-hamid/) > [To evoke in oneself a feeling one has once experienced, and having evoked it in oneself, then by means of movements, lines, colors, sounds,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-tolstoy/to-evoke-in-oneself-a-feeling-one-has-once-experienced-and-having/) [Leo Tolstoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-tolstoy/) > [Fighting's fun, man. It's a great activity, it's a great sport.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matt-mitrione/fighting-s-fun-man-it-s-a-great-activity-it-s-a-great-sport/) [Matt Mitrione](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matt-mitrione/) > [There were books everywhere in my house. Books were very present. I just loved books. I never understood reading as anything but a pleasurable…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lisa-lucas/there-were-books-everywhere-in-my-house-books-were-very-present-i/) [Lisa Lucas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lisa-lucas/) > [For war to man, like childbirth to women, is simplifying in its emotions and activities. All the real problems of life can be put…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pearl-s-buck/for-war-to-man-like-childbirth-to-women-is-simplifying-in-its/) [Pearl S. 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