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We have all been trained from an early age to think about the American political-economic landscape as one that maximizes general utility by pursuing individual self-interest, in what was probably described to you as some sort of marketplace competition. This line of thinking shouldn’t be a surprise. According to this premise, economic development is largely viewed as a zero-sum game in which gains by one community necessarily come at the expense of other communities.
ZERO SUM POLITICS DEFINITION FULL
These symbols are often the much coveted but elusive "thing" that Community A has that Community B does not: river-walks, convention centers, corporate HQs, sports arenas, neighborhoods full of expensive, custom-built homes, etc.Īnother common thread you will find in local and state economic development strategy is that of inter-governmental competition. What is meant by this is sometimes unclear, but, in my experience, the common thread tying economic development goals together is “financial progress,” meaning the influx of financial resources that can be accessed and translated into symbols of wealth that did not previously exist. You would be hard-pressed to find an influential figure in any community who won’t tell you that economic development needs to be their community's top priority for the future.
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Economic development is the name of the game in contemporary local government and politics.