There’s much nuance not expressed in my short sentence, some of which we discussed in DM’s. The stuff where people dedicate their life to write books on psychology and philosophy about. Suffice it to say that people are autonomous creatures with agency and their own needs and interests they pursue. And in doing so seek advantageous alignments. You have a good follow-up re: zero-sum vs. win-win. It is like each person plays their own first-person game of life based on complex decision-making.
I use “hypercapitalism” to avoid heated discussions on theory of “capitalism” while the system we have in practice is clearly broken. “Tip people into zero-sum game-play” is a nice way to phrase, I agree and I like that description. Where I focus is how hypercapitalism entices people to wield their vices to ‘bend’ the rules in their favor as it were and create “winning conditions”. This is intrinsic to the system and deeply affect the dynamics of the game.
Any elaboration is necessarily simplistic, unless we too write books full of deliberation. But e.g. results of this ‘vice-flavored’ model is that we have a “distrust-first” approach to dealing with others that permeates society as a whole. It may make our decision-making favor zero-sum choices and not grab obvious win-wins even they are the more logical choice. This is an assumption but with lotsa anecdotal evidence.
Where my interests lie is in thinking about systems that emphasize our virtues instead, in our interactions with others. On the assumption that they hold tremendous value and power, that we are becoming increasingly unaware of, by the continuous eroding effects of hypercapitalism as it steers us more and more in the direction of this “survival of the fittest” all-or-nothing gameplay. We forget the power of our virtues.
Now that line of thinking brings me motivational drivers to pursue virtue-driven interactions as a hobbyist philosopher and builder and prove the thesis of the value and power they hold. I explicitly mention “Hobbyist” here, as I don’t intend to be a fierce activist on this front, nor a wise lecturer having all his facts clear to teach others.
Philosophically I believe that - eventually - a virtue-based system should be able to introduce itself, without being taught, and that that aspect itself - of a system that emerges organically, rather than one the is enforced on us - is very important, (I say “eventually” because it is required that a growing group of people are dedicated to exploring how to set “the flywheel” in motion to introduce this system).
I also mention “Hobbyist” because I recognize that I, as a regular guy, can only give my 2cts and will necessarily be “dumb” in the face of all of the wisdom and knowledge that is already out there. I’m not seeking new ideas or wisdom, just applications of them and I will continously make “stupid” simplifications, as I am just one tiny soul. It is only collective wisdom that might lead us into new territories here.
I am thinking the book is highly worthwhile too, from excerpts I’ve read and the many quotes of Schumacher that are out there.
) in 
