Is it a good or bad thing?
2007-01-27 09:49:38 · 6 answers · asked by Source 4 in Arts & Humanities ➔ Philosophy
It can be either.
2007-01-27 09:56:50 · answer #1 · answered by Answerer 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Well...it's the reason I got straight A's in school. It motivated me to be the best because I'm fiercely competitive. It also makes me nuts because I never feel good enough. I endlessly compare myself to others & come up short. There's always someone better. A little competitiveness is ok if it's an impetus to do well but you should only compete with yourself. When you try to outdo others it breeds resentment. If I need to be better than you then I can never really accept you. I can only be angry and feel threatened if you outdo me & feel superior to you if I outdo you. It's about control. It makes you selfish and alienates you from others when taken to the extreme. But hey, look at sports. They wouldn't exist without competition. Is it just a game or does it sometimes go too far? (Chewing off body parts or pummelling someone literally to death in a boxing ring, or punching each other during hockey...)
Competitiveness in the marketplace is better for the consumer. If someone has no competition, they have a monopoly & can charge whatever they like. Competition means companies try to outdo each other with better products for less money, so we benefit.
On a larger scale, competitiveness may lead to a country's financial success and power but it also leads to hatred, cruelty, violence & war. Competition is to cooperation as war is to peace. But I don't think you'll ever convince world powers to cooperate rather than compete with each other. So there will never be an end of war and we will never live in harmony.
I just realized I hadn't directly answered your question...Competitiveness is a good thing and a horrible thing. It will destroy the planet. It has already taken millions of lives.
2007-01-27 18:48:39 · answer #2 · answered by amp 6 · 1⤊ 0⤋
It's instinctive. When humans first appeared on the evolutionary tree, we were primitive and like animals in many ways. In order to mate, the male had to impress the female and vice-versa. Now we are competitive for the same reasons, whether we know it or not.
2007-02-04 09:02:04 · answer #3 · answered by Yuffie K 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
it can be healthy to compete and see how far you can go with your strength and perserverance; like running a marathon or getting the next promotion at a job.
2007-02-03 22:15:40 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Competiveness helps us strive to do the best we can. That's a good thing.
2007-02-03 20:31:07 · answer #5 · answered by nessie 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
COMPETITION means comparison.
When we compare, we judge!
When we judge we are accepting morals.
When we accept morals we are declaring values!
When we declare values, others judge us!
When others judge us, we have COMPETITION!!!
2007-01-27 18:09:05 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 1⤋