Life is not a zero sum game (unless you live it like one)

Society is massively influenced by people of great power, and great power is often attained through unhealthy motivations. The idea that life is a zero sum game, that if someone is better off, someone else must suffer, is just a belief that serves the convenience of those who willingly act based on their pain – or more accurate – their pain-avoidance.
Everybody could live a better, happier life. Now if you wonder why, if this is supposed to be a self-amplifying process, it doesn’t happen: That’s simply because of the equally powerful adverse belief system and people acting based on that.
It is more convenient to thrive while making others suffer from an egoistic viewpoint, thus it is a very tempting approach.
But again: The greatest obstacle in furthering happiness for everybody is rooted in certain beliefs, and the dependencies that come with them and make it difficult to abandon those beliefs. When pain-avoidance is the driving motivation for them, getting rid of them requires one to deal with the pain they shoved aside. They can receive support during that experience, but since they are so motivated by painful experiences, they will habitually resist to that, since it’s not part of their world view that people help others out of compassion. It requires will and effort to become a better person, and when there is no incentive, those will not be there. Power structures have been built in order to provide comfort zones for those who don’t want to better themselves.