Competition

Competition is behavior designed to gain advantage over other agents. The advantage is usually in the form of increased potential for survival of the fittest, though in the case of altruism is may be in the form of increased potential for survival of those sharing one's genes or memes.

Competition occurs as competitive agents pursue their goals. In the human system this becomes members of Homo sapiens acting out their procreative drive. Competition is thus dominance and survival of the fittest, the strongest, the cleverest. If an individual cannot achieve dominance or survival, it will frequently resort to groupism. However once the challenge is surmounted, individuals or subgroups tend to revert to their own self-interest. Thus competitive equilibrium hovers around the level of groupism needed to optimize one's procreative odds.

Competition is so pervasive we practice and practice it to perfect competitive skills. Competitive sports are the outstanding example. Corporate competition for markets and profits is another. This sort of thing starts when we are very young as games, continues with things like competition for awards or the highest grades in school, and then blossoms as careers start and many compete to see who can make the most, advance the highest, gain the most fame, or make the biggest splash.

The case can be made that competition at a high level of intensity is no longer necessary. Homo Sapiens is no longer threatened by any predators. In modern society things are going to be about the same for you regardless of whether you have children or not. Some individuals and groups are enlightened enough to see that their own behavior need not be competition centric.

The case can also be made that competition can be taken too far. Wars, genocide, discrimination, conspicuous consumption, and arrogance over others are obvious examples. Even population growth is a competitive trait, because it gives one group a greater advantage over another.

Many types of competition have unintended unpleasant side effects because the competitor cared more for its own self-interests than others. The outstanding example is the environmental crisis we now find ourselves in. This crisis is clearly caused mostly by competition and can only be resolved by global cooperation. However, once resolved we must be certain to remain cooperative. Groups have rallied before to a common cause, but in all cases they have eventually reverted back to their own self-interest. Thus long term global cooperation is a key subgoal to sustain the problem solution.

The more mature alternative to competition is cooperation.