The writer of a letter in the March 25 Kirkland Reporter has made the classic mistake that all anti-capitalists make in assuming that every economic system is a zero-sum game.

Yes, the game of Monopoly is a zero-sum game. One person wins and everyone else loses because options are extremely limited. There is only so much “money” in the “bank” and only so many businesses and pieces of real estate on the board.

Fortunately, real life is not very much like the game of monopoly. Choices are almost infinite and wealth can be created rather than just distributed.

The capitalist system is the most effective economic system there is because it motivates and allows people to create wealth and channels resources into the businesses that produce the things that people most need and want. Also, in a capitalist system both parties in a business transaction enter into it voluntarily and both parties can benefit from it except in cases involving stupidity (which cannot be effectively regulated). Capitalism is not a zero-sum game. There does not have to be a loser.

None of these things can be said of a socialist system.

Jane Peterson, Kirkland