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When non-targets of diversity initiatives believe DEI is a zero-sum game, with “others” winning at their expense, they can become antagonistic toward employees of color.

"Many people in working-class communities can see, very clearly, that something has broken in American life, that they don’t have the opportunities they expected. Unfortunately, demagogic politicians have also spotted that justified sense of grievance and exploited the rise of zero-sum thinking to set workers against each other."

When people lose the chance to move where they want, the research says they grow more cynical, more alienated, and more inclined to see the world as a zero-sum game, where others’ gains come at their expense.

Unfortunately, demagogic politicians have also spotted that justified sense of grievance and exploited the rise of zero-sum thinking to set workers against each other—an effective way to win elections, but not to improve the lives of voters.

Erickson: It’s hard and it’s complicated because with the innie and outie dynamic, it’s sort of a zero-sum game, where however much life one of them has, that means the other has less.