Question 3: Is competition good for us? Is there an alternative? (1200 – 1500)
Competition is the betterment of ourselves whilst we compare ourselves against another also attempting to achieve the same goal. It can come in all aspects of our lives and it is constantly taking place. Competition is a natural response every living thing employs in response to its surroundings. In today's modern society, competition has become an even greater part of our lives, spurring men of our society on to do things which either brings greater glory or causes widespread harm.
Competition can bring about both good and bad results. Competition is a double edged sword, which can help us as well as also harm us. While competition may promote growth, competition taken to extremes can cause stagnation and degeneration.
Competition can help us improve ourselves. In our everyday lives, competition stirs us to attain better results than what we usually would. In competition, both we and our competitors progress and develop. It is this constant improvement that gives rise to the fact that competition is always intense. Those who cannot keep up are left behind. This harsh fact spurs us on to stay ahead of the rest of our competitors, keeping ourselves ahead of the pack to attain the goal towards which we had been progressing towards. In nature, there is often competition for food. This has led to the development of many of the most impressive predators which are able to inspire fear and yet also respect for the evolution which came about as a result of natural competition. In today's society, competition can be seen clearly from many aspects of our lives. Even young children compete. Siblings compete for their parents' attention. Students in school compete to achieve better results than their peers. This spurs them on to achieve better grades in their exams and therefore, allows them to be able to become better thinkers.
In today's world of economics and politics, competition has already seen the rise and fall of many people. It has seen the creation of millionaires, but it has also seen the utter destruction of millionaires. Businessmen compete amongst themselves to earn more money, thereby allowing them to better their lives and social status. This has allowed for the creation of business empires which supply people with their everyday necessities and other needed utilities to live the life of the modern man. Politicians also compete amongst themselves for places in the government so as to allow them to be able to gain better positions in shaping and ordering the lives of others. This has led to the creation of many governments which have been able to allow for the people in the country to live out their lives in peace and harmony. Athletes also compete amongst themselves to become better and gain prestige for themselves. This has led to the constant breaking of old records at sports events and the immortalizing of such athletes as role models for the world to follow, even as these athletes continue to live their dreams.
Furthermore, it is only as a result of competition that there have been so many inventions which have allowed ourselves to understand not only our surroundings, but also allow us to better and more comfortable lives. Scientists constantly compete amongst themselves to come up with even more ideas to improve the lives of men and allow them to live better contented and happier.
However, the concept of competition is not exactly a bed of roses. As with any other concept, competition has both its good and its bad points. Excessive competition can lead to stagnation. Even in nature, excessive competition has already reared its ugly head, showing the devastating effects it can bring. Through excessive competition, animals find that they are unable to continue on to develop and become better. This prevents them from progressing. Plants in a constant cycle of competition find that they are unable to grow as they constantly fight with each other to obtain sufficient nutrients to grow and keep themselves healthy.
Excessive competition also can cause many untoward side effects. This rises from the fact that through excessive competition, sentient beings begin to employ any methods they can bring to bear to achieve their goals. Businessmen may embezzle, cheat and steal, in their bid to stay ahead of the rest of their competitors. This causes the degeneration of society as these people use any methods necessary to achieve their goals, often using underhand methods to prevent their competitors from getting too close to them. Similarly, government officials and politicians may perform other criminal acts to allow them to stay ahead. They may misappropriate government funds and perform other acts of treachery, backstabbing and slandering in their rise to power. Athletes often are victims of excessive competition. They may take performance enhancing drugs to enhance their performance in the sports arena, allowing them to be able to showcase better performances which thereby allow them to beat their fellow competitors.
Most notably perhaps would be excessive competition between nations which would then cause them to take drastic actions, actions which often lead to open war. During World War 2, Germany, as a result of excessive competition between her and the other major European powers, began the conquering of neighboring states in her bid for global domination. This then sparked off World War 2 which ultimately led to the slaughter of many soldiers and civilians.
While in normal competition, there are often losers and winners, in excessive competition, such endings are often more pronounced, with even more devastating results for the losers. As a result of such intense competition, the losers often lose everything they have, sometimes even their lives. In the natural world, the result of excessive competition would lead to the loss of everything, even the life of the loser. In the business world, and in the political world, the losers often lose their reputation, careers, sometimes even their families and homes. As a result of this, they lose their livelihood and most spend the rest of their days attempting to eke out the rest of their wretched existence. In the sporting arena, the losers may get pulled out from their sporting teams, thereby losing their only means of earning money. In fact, in today's world, more and more people are the victims of excessive competition as more and more people demand only the absolute best.
Alternatives to competition do exist. However, these alternatives often do not bring about the rapid growth and improvement which competition can bring about. Cooperation is one such alternative. Through cooperation, we can learn from each other and therefore also improve ourselves. However, as with competition, cooperation cannot be taken to the extreme. Through extreme cooperation, there will cease to be a need to learn from each other as we find that there is no longer a need to do so. Competition creates a need to constantly stay ahead of the pack. Through extreme cooperation, the need to stay ahead of the pack will then have been removed. Therefore, we will then find that we would rather stagnate ourselves rather than cooperate and improve ourselves. In today's dog-eat-dog world of business and politics, many would rather go for the zero-sum choice of excessive competition rather than consider other methods. In fact, many would rather compete to the death rather than consider the benefits that cooperation with each other could bring.
Therefore, to sum up, there are many alternatives to competition. These alternatives can all be readily found in nature and they include mutualism and parasitism. However, as with competition, they are all double-edged swords which can harm as readily as they can help one. In fact, there is no absolute alternative to competition. Without competition, society will simply be unable to progress as many will lose sight of their life-goals and give up chasing these goals. Similarly, without the alternatives, society will dissolve into a rabble which is constantly biting at each other's heels in an endless cycle of excessive competition. Therefore, while there are alternatives to competition, such alternatives, especially the alternative of cooperation should be used hand in hand with competition, and not in place of it.
Grades: 22/30
:::InSight:::
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