Debt is not money.
Banks do not lend anything
The government prints credit
Banks create banks credit
Both of them are just one side o f a balance sheet, the other side is debt. You are right when you say it should be a zero sum game, but it’s not, and will never be with debt.
Money MUST BE debt free. Because money is the opposite of debt. That the only fear system. Private property you can own with no counterparty risk.
You don’t need the government to tell you what money is. They will let you know by prohibiting it, and trying to control it or replace it with fake money = debt