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I see nothing wrong with competition. It's civility or sportsmanship that makes a quality competition, and it has been de-emphasized in our culture. Winners lord over the vanquished with trash talk and sack dances. Losers refuse to acknowledge defeat declaring victory where victory is not warranted. Where this has come from I do not know. Why this seems to be seen as a strength I don't know.
Being unable to see or take advantage of an opportunity to learn something about yourself is not a good personal characteristic, and winning and losing are some of the best teachers. Anyway...
...in my opinion, it is the lack of civility that degrades competition. Competition itself is good.
Competition is a natural huan trait. Its alos what drives innovation and in what porovides for so mnay. There are always people who just want to get along and they are the ones who have to co-operate amoug themselves as a group in acitivity and usually the drievn perosn leads that group to coordinate it.I certainly do not see latin americans as beig happy form all the revolutionary movements and corruption there.At one time the Cubans were viewed as happy;but perhaps they were just suppressed that give that impression.
I think the bottom line is that competition is ok as long as it's within regulation.
Competition insufficiently regulated is a corrosive force inevitably leading to malpractice, well illustrated by the financial chaos we now face.
Here in the UK we've endured 30 years of Tory style competition driven greed and grab. It's resulted in a housing market which is out of reach for too many of our young people (social housing has been sold off for profit) and is a direct result of competitive speculation. The winners are slapping thmselves on the back and counting how much profit they've made and the rest are just doing without.
Where is the voice that speaks for these young people and those to come I ask?
There is none that I can hear, and yet ordinary people still vote Conservative.
Unbelievable.
I think the bottom line is that competition is ok as long as it's within regulation.
Competition insufficiently regulated is a corrosive force inevitably leading to malpractice, well illustrated by the financial chaos we now face.
Here in the UK we've endured 30 years of Tory style competition driven greed and grab. It's resulted in a housing market which is out of reach for too many of our young people (social housing has been sold off for profit) and is a direct result of competitive speculation. The winners are slapping thmselves on the back and counting how much profit they've made and the rest are just doing without.
Where is the voice that speaks for these young people and those to come I ask?
There is none that I can hear, and yet ordinary people still vote Conservative.
Unbelievable.
Greed ruins competition. Often, those at the top aren't content with what they have, so they want more and more, thus creating more income disparity and a society in which fewer people can get to the top. They still spin out nonsense about dreams and how you'll succeed if you just work hard, but in reality, most people remain in the social classes in which they're fortunate or unfortunate enough to be born into.
Besides, more is achieved when people work together, rather than against one another. In a society of just winners and losers, few get to the top and do much talent is wasted.
Encourage competition by all means, but we should not label those that take longer to get to the finish line or don't make it at all as "losers".
Competition can be a very good thing. In fact, it is generally a good thing. Competition in the business world has made many things affordable to the poor and lower middle class that were previously beyond their reach. Walmart and the other "big box" stores are a good example of what I am talking about. Who could imagine even a few years ago that you could buy a LCD or flat screen t.v. for $400 or $500? When I was a child, I am surprised at how limited shopping opportunities were. When I was in high school and I needed new pens, a folder, or school supplies there a limited number of places I could get them. I had to make sure I got to the store before 9:00 p.m. or it would close. Today, I can buy these kinds of things 24/7 and at a cheap price.
Having said all that, the idea that competition is generally a good thing should never be perverted into the idea "that competition is always good". Unregulated competition would have lead to the destruction of all the national forests and national parks in this country if government hadn't protected these lands. It would have ultimately lead to us breathing or drinking air and water so polluted that it would make us sick or kill us.
Competition doesn't work well in some areas of the economy and that is why we have public utilities where the state grants one electric company or one gas company the right to provide service to all customers in a territory or an area. The state grants one company a legal monopoly over service and than regulates the prices they may charge for their services. If you think this is wrong, than imagine seven companies competing with each other all digging up the streets to put in separate electric lines and natural gas pipes. That would be unworkable and anyone should be able to see that.
Competition works poorly in other areas where people have inadequate information about goods and services or where understanding the quality of the goods and services requires a lot of education or sophistication. The stock market is regulated by the Securities and Exchange Commission for this reason. On a more personal level, I think one reason health care costs are so expensive is because of the the knowledge and expertise that health care professionals are required to have to maintain licenses.
So, while competition is generally a good thing, it shouldn't be considered the perfect solution in all situations. The goal should be to accomplish the "greatest good for the greatest number". Not to adhere to a principle that doesn't work in all situations.
Generally speaking I would think that $400 TV’s are the result of someone somewhere working long hours for very little even if the sets are assembled domestically. Many companies from the West move to emerging economies where they can manufacture much more cheaply. They may get the item to the consumer for less but they aren't giving you anything - the worker the other end is.
When big companies compete they don't always improve the product for the consumer, they're far more likely to cut costs, merge jobs and/or add unnecessary bells & whistles to the product. They see change as essential (to retain a competitive edge) even if the product and the consumer suffer - and they frequently do. How many items do you buy these days that are obviously of an inferior quality than previous ones? It happens to me all the time. Endless corner cutting.
Sunday used to be a day off here in the UK but the big stores started to open to get an edge over the others and hey presto we now have universal Sunday opening. What do they do next to get an edge - there are no more days left? The best of it is they are no better off because everyone opens and they're back to the same relative playing field they had before. Difference being that the worker is now putting in longer hours often on a part time contract for the minimum wage (which the Conservatives opposed because it would be 'bad for business') and all in the name of 'healthy competition'.
They've even robbed us of Christmas. Shopping fever is now more or less continuous over the Christmas period - only Christmas Day itself survives, but not for long I'll bet.
Why don't we just open right through and forget Christmas, it's just a hindrance really!!
I don't see anything wrong with a little healthy competition, it makes people try harder, but there has to be a limit. I lived in Japan for awhile and was blown away by the difference in their attitude. They have their own set of pressures, but in relation to community there are no specific classes that I could see and they seem to operate for the good of their people and country as a whole and not what will benefit them the most as individuals. I have never met people so willing to go out of their way for eachother outside of a major catastrophe. I remember one of the Japanese teachers I spoke to told me that there aren't janitors in Japan. All of the kids and teachers are responsible for cleaning the school from primary school all the way up. There is an emphasis on pride and respect for property and work and because of that the things they have are valued there in a way that we in the States take for granted. Kids are less likely to be destructive and more apt to be respectful if they know they will be the ones cleaning up the mess. I think that the general pride and respect people have there is inherent in all aspects of their lives and they are one of the most technologically advanced societies in the world so they must be doing something right.
"You call it competition, I call it survival of the fittest. If evolution encouraged cooperation, none of us would be here now. The best win and the second best don't. I don't see a problem with that. I see it as life."
If it were that simple we wouldn't need any rules or regulations would we and it's precisely the lack of them that has led us to where we are.
(Unless of course you think we're in a good place at the moment.)
Competition is important in some aspects of life such as the job market or organized sports and/or contest.
But the problem is when people are competitive in every face of their lives as if it's really that serious.
"My house is bigger than yours"
"I've got more cars than you"
"I'm more popular than you"
"Well my girl is hotter than yours"
"Well I get laid more than you do"
And the list goes on. If you are constantly competing at every little thing in life when are you going to find time to relax and enjoy life?
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