American History Has Been A Zero-Sum Game: How The Elite Divides Us to Impoverish All of Us

Divide and Conquer – It’s Still Going On 

You have probably seen this cartoon since it has been around for a while. What I like about this scenario is how close it comes to explaining the history of our country. Divide and conquer schemes have been used over and over and the rich white patriarchs are still at it, and still succeeding. It explains clearly why working-class white people will vote against their interests time after time and elect demagogues who only look out for themselves.

The divide and conquer scheme is based on a view of society that can be summed up as the “zero-sum game.”[i] The elite, to hang on to their power, privilege, and wealth, need only to convince the average person, usually white, that if the “other group” gets any benefits, it will come at their expense. It imagines that the social and economic pie is finite and if Blacks or Latinos get a bigger share, that means white people will get a smaller share. This is nothing more than a carnival game scheme that keeps not just Blacks and other non-white groups marginalized, but it hurts white people too.

This trick explains our current state of massive income inequality, lack of health insurance coverage for all people, and the explosive student debt crisis. Despite the increasing desperation of middle and working-class Americans, the top elite is doing just fine, in fact, better than fine.

This carnival trick has worked so well for Donald Trump that he and his minions are using it again for the 2024 election. Anti-immigration tropes and slurs are designed to scare white people into supporting Trump.

I hope that we can expose this for what it is, and help average white Americans see that they are being duped, fooled, manipulated, and exploited by a ruling class that cares nothing for them and their interests. All they care about is their vote, keeping their “cookies” and in the process taking everyone else’s cookies too.

I’ll share a few examples from our history of how this zero-sum game has been played and how it has successfully turned people who have common interests against one another because of the manipulation of white rich patriarchs. Then, we’ll connect those dots to what is happening now as we go into another Presidential election cycle.

 Bacon’s Rebellion 1676

In September 1676, Nathaniel Bacon along with an armed group of both poor, working-class whites and Blacks, attacked and burnt down Jamestown due to grievances that they had in common. Governor Berkeley was forced to flee. It took a British force to quell the rebellion and Bacon died the next month which caused the rebels to disperse.

What was the most threatening to the planter elite of Virginia was the common cause made by whites and blacks of low estates. Slavery had not yet been solidified or codified by law, and the concept of “whiteness” hadn’t yet been fully defined. Bacon’s Rebellion demonstrated that poor whites and poor blacks could be united in a common cause. There were far more lower-class people than the elite. This was the greatest fear of the ruling class — what would prevent the poor from uniting to fight them? They could conceivably overturn the social and economic order. This fear hastened the transition to racial slavery.[ii]

Michelle Alexander in her book, The New Jim Crow, explains how the planter elite reacted and changed their strategy:  “The events in Jamestown were alarming to the planter elite, who were deeply fearful of the multiracial alliance of [indentured servants] and slaves. Word of Bacon’s Rebellion spread far and wide, and several more uprisings of a similar type followed. To protect their superior status and economic position, the planters shifted their strategy for maintaining dominance. They abandoned their heavy reliance on indentured servants in favor of the importation of more black slaves.”[iii]

Within the next two decades, politicians in Virginia passed a series of laws that divided colonists into racial groups, not social classes. “Whites” were given higher status and privileges not afforded to Blacks. Blackness was defined as enslaved (not just workers) and restrictions on rights, property ownership, and other basic rights were enacted. The rich white patriarchs successfully used a divide-and-conquer, zero-sum strategy that created chattel, racialized slavery. Even poor whites now had reason to support the planter class, though poor whites and Blacks far outnumbered the patriarchs.

Poor Whites Support Planters During the Civil War

Southern slave society in the 1800s can be described as a feudal society based on a strict hierarchy. At the top of course were rich white planters who made fortunes in at first tobacco production and later in cotton. Three-fourths of the white population were landless, poor white farmers and laborers who owned no slaves, and were considered by the planter class to be inferior, uneducated, and expendable.[iv] Planters consistently fed them the lie that because they were white, they were still socially superior to enslaved Black people.

There were reported plots and even a few uprisings that included both whites and enslaved Blacks, but by the time the 1850s rolled around the planter class had convinced the landless whites who were nothing better than serfs, that they had a stake in the southern “way of life” which included white supremacy and enslavement.[v] Planters were more concerned about an alliance between their slaves and poor whites as much or more than the Northern Union army.

When it came time to fill the ranks of the Confederate armies, the vast numbers of soldiers came from that landless poor white class and yeoman farmers who owned no slaves. If the planters did engage in the war, it was in the officer corps. They divided the interests of poor whites and enslaved Black people to secure their fortunes and status.

The reality was that some southern yeomen and non-land-owning whites forged relationships with escaped slaves and freedmen who assisted in undermining the Confederacy through guerrilla warfare, deception, and espionage.[vi] Not all poor whites bought into the zero-sum lie that the planters were trying to sell. In the end, however, this lie led to the ruin of the whole Southern economy, its farms, and its future.

Southern Populist and Fusion Governments are Overthrown

The white elite of the South eventually re-established their position, wealth, and domination of their states after Reconstruction. By the time Reconstruction came to an end, there was a coalition of populist white politicians with Black leaders who set up “Fusion” governments. These Fusion governments were usually Republicans who worked with Black leaders and politicians. Blacks held hundreds of offices at the local and state levels under these governments.[vii]

The white Georgia Senator Tom Watson, himself a racist, understood the zero-sum tactics that the white elite was using at the time when he spoke to a group of both Black and white laborers in 1892. He said, “You are kept apart that you may be separately fleeced of your earnings. You are made to hate each other because upon that hatred is rested the keystone of the arch of financial despotism which enslaves you both.”[viii] Elites established and perpetuated segregation, Watson argued, benefitting them in multiple ways.

From the era of slavery, and Jim Crow, to the struggles of working-class people today, many of the problems plaguing the South – and indeed, the nation – are a direct result of racism and this zero-sum paradigm.[ix]

White supremacists overthrew these Fusion governments in the 1890s to regain elite patriarchal political power. They used intimidation, threats, cheating at the ballot box, and violence to re-establish elite control.

The most egregious act of sabotage and violence against the Black-white fusion government took place in Wilmington, North Carolina in November 1898. Spurred on by the political-business elite of the city, working-class whites overthrew the duly elected government of the city in what can only be called a coup. They violently attacked and drove out Blacks from their positions and their homes. Divide and conquer restored white supremacist rule in Wilmington.[x]

As the specter of Jim Crow fell across the South, elites codified segregation, disenfranchised Black people, and created a caste system that subjugated Black people but also kept poor whites in perpetual poverty. An examination of the wages and salaries of these southern states compared to the rest of the nation will show the devastating result.[xi]

Divide and Conquer Labor Unions

Nothing has helped working-class Americans achieve middle-class status more than the union movement. Yet all through the 20th century there are example after example of management dividing workers against themselves using racial tensions and division as a threat to worker solidarity. This was worse in the South, but there were many unions in the North that refused to accept Black workers.[xii] Management threatened to hire Black workers if white workers went on strike. However, there were major union victories, but they came when class and race were set aside and the two groups joined together in solidarity.[xiii]

America’s white elite have successfully modernized age-old strategies for today of using racism to prevent the formation of a broad coalition of people along class lines and racial lines. Recently, workers at a Nissan plant in Mississippi voted down unionization because, as one white worker said, “If the Blacks are for it, then I’m against it.”[xiv] These workers, both white and black, are not benefiting from the new union contract that was just won in other states due to worker solidarity. The Nissan workers will be working for at least $10 less per hour, maybe more.[xv]

A zero-sum mentality hurts white workers as much as it hurts black workers, and the only ones to win are the elite.

Trickle-Down Bait-n-Switch

In 1980, Ronald Reagan pulled one of the biggest bait-n-switch schemes in American history by convincing white voters that their economic woes were due to high taxes (on the rich), welfare queens (code for Black people), and unions. The answer according to Reagan’s new breed of conservativism was to enrich the elite even more than they already were through hefty tax cuts and stoke divisions through what was called, “The Southern Strategy.”[xvi]

Reagan was able to get working-class whites, especially in the South, to vote for him because he promised them that the wealth from the elite would “trickle down” to the workers. Just deregulate businesses, reduce government oversight, cut government spending on welfare and other safety-net programs, and let CEOs increase their salaries to 300 times that of the workers.[xvii] Don’t worry, it will come down to you…eventually.

But it didn’t.

Instead, what Americans got for the next 40 years was the growth of the largest pay and wealth disparity between the rich and poor in history, declining incomes and wealth, and both Black and white workers were relegated to the bottom of the income ladder. The 1% now has 32% of the nation’s wealth while the bottom 50% has 2.6%.[xviii]

And of course, we had an economic crash in 2008 that siphoned even more wealth from both Black and white homeowners who lost their equity and, in many cases, their homes altogether.[xix] It wasn’t the bottom 50% that caused the recession…it was the top 1%. But the top 1% were the ones to get bailed out, not those in the bottom 50%.

That brings us to what is still happening today….

Master Grifter-Divider

In 2015, Donald Trump launched his Presidential campaign based on a single storyline. It is immigrants who are the reason Americans can’t get ahead. Trump exploited mainly white fear in the wake of the first Black President in history. He told white Americans that they were going to be replaced by foreigners and immigrants and they were keeping their wages low and taking their jobs.[xx] He was a master manipulator of racial and class hatred that he could leverage into his tagline, “Only I can fix it.” He fooled enough people in 2016 to squeak out an electoral victory.

During his four years in office, he continually roused racial and class tensions pitting Americans against each other to maintain his control over the Republican party and the nation. Whether it was Black Lives Matter, “shit-hole” countries, or the CDC during the COVID crisis, his answer was always the same…it was THEIR fault. They, meaning the “other” are to blame for your problems, but only I can fix it…

Except he didn’t.

In 2020, enough people could see through the lie and veneer of what Trump was doing to bring Joe Biden to the White House. Here is the key…the victory of Biden in 2020 was built on a coalition of people: Black, white, Latinx, young people, and enough white people who were repelled by Trump’s manipulation, greed, and division-sowing.

The Solidarity Dividend

This should give us hope and a road map for dealing with this type of grand-scale lying and manipulation designed to divide and conquer. When we work together in a multi-racial, multi-class society, we can achieve more for everyone. The world isn’t a zero-sum game as the elite would like to try and convince you. If one group gets ahead and prospers, it doesn’t mean you will suffer for it.

By coming together in what Heather McGhee calls a “Solidarity Dividend” we can overcome these manufactured divisions and make the economy and our society work for everyone. McGee, in her book, “The Sum of Us” had this observation about the moment we are in:

“The logic that launched the zero-sum paradigm—I will profit at your expense—is no longer sparing millions of white Americans from the degradations of American economic life as people of color have always known it…. The old zero-sum paradigm is not just counterproductive; it’s a lie….To this day, the wealthy and the powerful are still selling the zero-sum story for their own profit, hoping to keep people with much in common from making common cause with one another.”[xxi]

President Biden Gets It

I’ll close with this hopeful sign. Joe Biden gets it, he understands that the zero-sum game doesn’t work. He said in a speech in 2021,

For too long, we’ve allowed a narrow, cramped view of the promise of this nation to fester. You know, we’ve—we’ve bought the view that America is a zero-sum game in many cases: “If you succeed, I fail.” “If you get ahead, I fall behind.” “If you get the job, I lose mine.” Maybe worst of all, “If I hold you down, I lift myself up.” …I believe this nation and this government need to change their whole approach to the issue of racial equal—equity… We need to open the promise of America to every American.

…[Systemic racism] is corrosive, it’s destructive, and it’s costly. It costs every American, not just those who have felt the sting of racial injustice…. We are not just…morally deprived because of systemic racism; we’re also less prosperous, we’re less successful, we’re less secure.[xxii]

Let’s bring the elite’s game of zero-sum to a halt and banish it. We can then begin to reap the “Solidarity Dividend.”

[i] McGhee, Heather C. The Sum of Us: What Racism Costs Everyone and How We Can Prosper Together. New York, One World, 9 Feb. 2021.

[ii] Zinn, Howard. A People’s History of the United States (Modern Classics) . HarperCollins. Kindle Edition. Location 764.

[iii] Michelle Alexander, The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness, rev. ed. (New York: The New Press, 2013), 24.

[iv] Kenneth Milton Stampp. The Peculiar Institution : Slavery in the Ante-Bellum South. New York, Ny, Vintage Books, 1965, p. 30.

[v] Kenneth Milton Stampp p. 804.

[vi] Zinn (location 3325) Kindle Edition

[vii] Lears, Jackson. Rebirth of a Nation : The Making of Modern America, 1877-1920. New York, Harper Perennial, 2010, p. 126.

[viii] Lears (164).

[ix] McGhee (33).

[x] Zucchino, David. Wilmington’s Lie. Grove Atlantic, 2020.

[xi] See: Forbes Advisor website, 2024 “Average Salary by State” https://www.forbes.com/advisor/business/average-salary-by-state/

[xii] Roediger, David R. Working toward Whiteness : How America’s Immigrants Became White : The Strange Journey from Ellis Island to the Suburbs. New York, Basic Books, 2005, p. 79.

[xiii] Roediger, (78-92).

[xiv] McGhee, (118).

[xv] McGhee, (114).

[xvi] Lazenby, Ethan. “The Southern Strategy – Confluence.” Confluence, 4 Apr. 2023, confluence.gallatin.nyu.edu/context/interdisciplinary-seminar/the-southern-strategy.

[xvii] Zinn, (577-590).

[xviii] “How Has Wealth Distribution in the US Changed over Time?” USAFacts, 13 Nov. 2023, usafacts.org/articles/how-has-wealth-distribution-in-the-us-changed-over-time/.

[xix] McGhee, (81).

[xx]Ball, Molly. “Donald Trump and the Politics of Fear.” The Atlantic, The Atlantic, 2 Sept. 2016, www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2016/09/donald-trump-and-the-politics-of-fear/498116/.

[xxi] McGhee, (16).

[xxii] Biden, Joe. “Remarks by President Biden at Signing of an Executive Order on Racial Equity.” The White House, 26 Jan. 2021, www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/speeches-remarks/2021/01/26/remarks-by-president-biden-at-signing-of-an-executive-order-on-racial-equity/.