There are lots of people and organizations that believe that competition is a good thing; and in certain situations, and aspects, they are right. Then again, when competition is taken to the extreme, in which the “win at all costs” is the fixed mindset, many people and organizations will go to extreme lengths to do what they feel they need and should do to get what they believe they have a right to get. That type of competition isn’t healthy, because it often consists, at least in part, of lying, cheating, exploitation, and outright thievery which are not attributes that are healthy for any society of any merit. Further to the point, any construct in which the game as played, is essentially a zero-sum game, in which one side therefore gains something, whereas, the other side must correspondingly lose something, isn’t going to bring out the best in people, but more than likely, it’s going to bring out the worst.
There is a lot to be said about the value of cooperation, as well as of collaboration, as quite obviously being a far healthier construct to build societies upon. After all, when each party to a transaction believes that they are getting a fair benefit from that transaction and that structure, this encourages people and organizations to work harder, to stay focused, and to strive towards their collective goals, for the overall benefit of those so engaged. To a very large extent the limitations of humankind, are self-imposed limitations, for there isn’t any compelling reason to believe that the correct viewpoint for the world at large, is that this is a zero-sum world, for if that be the case, the future holds no promise, expect perhaps for the very, very few, and even those very few, are not secure, forever. On the other hand, in a collaborative world, in which we are all truly in this together, there is a sensible reason to keep on keeping on, for the promise of that world, is the promise of a united world, working together for the greater good.
Even in the capitalistic world, it doesn’t need to always be a cutthroat competition, as if somehow this fairly separates the deserving from the undeserving; when, in fact, in many instances it is more of a separation between those that are ruthless and will stop at nothing in order to get what they so desire, as compared to those that play by the rules and are a good neighbor within their community. Those that believe, that somehow one always reaps more by using fear, intimidation, force, and misdirection; seem not to comprehend that a more inclusive society that works with people, that values those people, and provides those people with a fair shake and a fair say in a given enterprise is a far better and safer environment to be in. Remember this well, while greed does indeed drive certain people to get this or that done, it seldom brings out the best attributes from those very capable people; whereas, those that cooperate and collaborate are the very people that are built to last, for what they so desire to achieve, requires teamwork, and from this alliance of many, they work together as one.