"zero sum game" As others allude to, natural resources are zero sum, they are a finite resource, once they are gone, they are gone. So if an imperial power is

"zero sum game" As others allude to, natural resources are zero sum, they are a finite resource, once they are gone, they are gone. So if an imperial power is mining resources from a 'colony', that 'colony' is being stripped of economic potential with very little to show for it. They do not both gain economically, like some allude to when maybe it is two countries sharing manufactured goods.