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HOPE AND DESPAIR IN GAZA

Aug 08 2008

Is our competitive spirit hurting our civilization?

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By Rachael Bliss

Do you think we'll ever achieve peace through nonviolence? Or, in other words, will humans ever realize that they can live a healthier, happier life if they cooperate other than compete?

Seems to me that competition is related to the Protestant Work Ethic.

And how are they similar? Both serve to create more products that use more resources and get us all just a little more exhausted.

I know a person who quit his job because he was too competitive. He wanted to call the shots consistently, and when that didn't go over too well with his bosses, he told them where to go, and started his own business where no one would draw the line on what he could or couldn't do for the good of the organization.

So to this day, that person loses sleep, cashes in all his life's savings, runs up his credit card bills, strips himself of most of his collateral, all so his new business can outshine the place where he used to work.

So folks, I think it's the testosterone in them (both sexes). I can't imagine a world where there is no competition. Whereas, if those competitive folks would just shed a little of their pride, they may be able to enjoy life a little more. They could find joy in the fact that their group completed a feat that will help man and womankind. Or they may rejoice in the fact that a number of groups made this world a better place to live.

I really think that this competitive spirit to win, to be on top, is unhealthy. There doesn't have to be winners. In fact, there should be more sharers. People need to enjoy the wonders of this universe and this planet by deeply breathing in its wonders, by taking time from work to notice the small things, to appreciate one's family and to watch the kids grow.

Instead, our capitalistic system uses the tendency for some people to be competitive to get more from their workers, so the owners of the corporations can make more money for themselves and their stock holders, so they all can be richer and have more prestige than those of the other corporations. They basically "use" the little guy by squeezing him, draining him, smashing him (or her), just so they can at last hold that little trophy that says they gave the most and won the most.....maybe a promotion or just a slap on the back.

We could probably argue until the cows come home on whether humans are innately competitive or cooperative. So let's go one step beyond that.

How about if we just look at the facts. We have been a competitive society for a long time. Yes, there have been some successes in the meantime. But who's to say that those successes couldn't have been possible if we had just cooperated? Maybe through cooperation, more people would have survived cancer or AIDS, maybe more families would have enjoyed Mom and Dad being in the home more, maybe more resources would have been saved for the needs of our grandchildren down the road. Maybe not so many Indians would have been killed in the settlement of my country.

My suggestion: Let's try ten years of complete cooperation. Let's outlaw competition. For just ten years. If things don't improve, then we can go back to competition.

But I have a feeling that folks, once they channel their skills and talents into cooperation for just a year or two, most will say that the latter is the better. And life will improve for all of us. And our earth will thank us, along with the families and societies that live on it.

Try it. You might like it yourself. Let's do it for the next generation's sake. Don't we always tell them to share? Maybe they can keep in mind that advice as they work in the real world later on.

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