A Non-Zero-Sum Game of Football

Iain McLean

British Journal of Political Science, 1980, vol. 10, issue 2, 253-259

Abstract: A recent unusual event in the First Division of the English (Association) Football League provides an interesting example of how a game that is normally zero-sum can be converted into a non-zero-sum game. The political implications are, I hope, obvious. If politics consists of zero-sum games such as Diplomacy, Marx's conception of class conflict, or some non-Marxists' conceptions of ethnic, language, or boundary disputes, then no long-run co-operation between the players is possible and war is a seemingly inevitable continuation of policy by other means. If it consists of non-zero-sum games such as Prisoners' Dilemma, most non-Marxists' conceptions of class conflict, or some Marxists' conceptions of ethnic, language, or boundary disputes, then there is scope for co-operation as well as for competition. The present example, originally developed as an undergraduate teaching aid, may be of some general interest.

Date: 1980
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