Ben Compton Writes:
>This raises some very interesting questions. Why is competition "part of
>human nature"? Is it a survival instinct? Or is it a learned behavior? If
>the first, then why would our biological make up include an instinct to
>compete? And if it is the latter, why would we learn to compete so well
>that it became part of human nature?
To me, the notions of competition and scarcity seem to be related.
Competition seems to arise when everyone's needs or wants can't be
satisfied with available resources. I'm not sure that the human nature
(whatever that is) vs. learned behaviour debate matters that much. The
truth is, we've been exhibiting competitive behaviours as a species for a
long time.
>Another set of questions that come to mind are: Why is purusing ones own
>self-interest at odds with collaboration? I think of it this way: I will
>cooperate, collaborate, and work with those I can trust. The only way I
>know who I can and cannot trust is to first compete with them so I can
>objectively measure their skill, reliability, and performance. I certainly
>would not want to get into a cooperative arrangement with someone who
>would slow me down, impair the quality of my work, or consume extra
>resources because they're not reliable. To that extent I am in favor of
>pursuing my own self-interest. Besides if I don't persue my own
>self-interest who will?
Ben, are you saying you would only trust someone with whom you have
competed? If I wanted to write a paper with you, or serve a common client
with you, are you saying we'd have to go through some sort of competition
first? What kind of battle would you suggest?
Frankly, were you to require some sort of competition between us as a
requisite for working together, I think I'd be inclined to suggest working
with someone else.
>I'm coming close to reaching the conclusion that competition usually
>precedes any significant and meaningful cooperation. It allows us to make
>judgments about people that help us decide who we will or will not
>cooperate with.
In as much as this is conceptually interesting, is it practical? Would
you make a potential spouse compete with you before deciding to trust that
person enough to marry them?
Some people most definately look at the performance of others before
deciding to cooperate with them. That doesn't mean a competition
involving both parties is necessary.
Jason Smith
jsmith@quantumsolutions.on.ca (work)
"It's tough to make predictions, especially about the future." - Yogi Berra
--"Jason Smith" <jsmith@quantumsolutions.on.ca>
Learning-org -- Hosted by Rick Karash <rkarash@karash.com> Public Dialog on Learning Organizations -- <http://www.learning-org.com>