He thinks the world economy is a zero sum game. That is a game in which the size of the pie is fixed and if someone gets more of the pie, someone else gets less. That is what he thinks Europe has done to the US, has eaten some of the pie that should rightfully have been ours.

In fact, the pie can grow, and even economic rivals can cooperate to helpt the total pie grow so that both are better off. The US-EU economic relationship has on the whole been this sort of success story.

Trump also thinks that there are a limited number of possible jobs, and that if some people fill those jobs, they are taking them away from others. But the labor market is also not a zero sum game, an idea called the “lump of labor” fallacy. That is why he resents immigrants, who he alleges are taking jobs. In fact, the number of jobs can grow. And the evidence is precisely that immigration causes economic expansion and an increase in the number of jobs. Small businesses expand when there is more labor available, which benefits everyone.

Zero sum game ways of thinking are extremely dangerous. They are first of all simply incorrect. Second, they promote conflict, because instead of realizing that everyone can win, they emphasize inflexible competition (in Trump’s case, on racial bases, feeding his fascism).

via Trump calls EU “Foe,” on Eve of Putin Summit, on basis of his Zero-Sum Mercantalism