Success to the successful helps those in the lead get further ahead.

Also known as competitive exclusion, where two species compete for the same resources, which inevitably causes a pivot or extinction of one, as the other uses resources more effectively, yielding an escalating dominance. Success then is a reinforcing feedback loop for success, as is the case of money under capitalism. Solutions include diversifying, though new competitors inevitably arrive or the dominant competitor may crush the attempt; new regulatory feedback loops can prevent too much competitive advantage; or the system design can include periodic level-setting. Losers of an adequately stacked game can sometimes enforce a reset by destroying the game.rM3


  1. Donella H. Meadows and Diana Wright, Thinking in Systems: A Primer (White River Junction, Vt: Chelsea Green Pub, 2008). (See notes.)