But the long and short of it is that stock is part ownership of a company. Companies are not zero sum, they create wealth through a process that Paul Graham explains in http://www.paulgraham.com/wealth.html. The trading of stock itself is a zero sum game - each time it happens someone is trading ownership worth a certain amount for the same value in money. But owning stock goes up and down with the prospects for the company.
But the long and short of it is that stock is part ownership of a company. Companies are not zero sum, they create wealth through a process that Paul Graham explains in http://www.paulgraham.com/wealth.html. The trading of stock itself is a zero sum game - each time it happens someone is trading ownership worth a certain amount for the same value in money. But owning stock goes up and down with the prospects for the company.