Imagine a society where there is no competition. Is it possible ? If not, why not?
(2) An anecdote of a school teacher who recounted her experience with children in a remote area in Africa draws attention to the fact that competition itself has to be explained sociologically and not as a natural phenomena. The anecdote refers to the teacher's assumption that the children will naturally rejoice at the idea of a competitive race where the winner would get a chocolate as a prize. To her surprise, her suggestion not only did not evoke any enthusiasm but instead seeemed to cause considerable anxiety and distress.
(3) On probing further they expresses their distaste for a game where there would be ‘winners’ and ‘losers’. This went againts their idea of fun, which meant for them a necessarily cooperative and collective experience, and not a competitive one where the rewards necessarily exclude some and reward one or few.
(4) In the contemporary world however competition is the dominant norm and practice. Classical sociological thinkers such as Emile Durkheim and Karl Marx have noted the growth of individualism and competition respectively in modern societies. Both developments are intrinsic to the way modern capitalist society functions. The stress is no greater efficiency and greater profit maximisation. The underlying assumptions of capitalism are :
(i) expansion of trade;
(ii) division of labour;
(iii) specialisation; and
(iv) hence rising productivity.
(6) And these processes of self-sustaining growth are fuelled by the central theme of capitalism : rational individuals in free competition in the market place, each striving to maximise profits.
(7) The ideology of competition is the dominant ideology in capitalism. The logic of this ideology is that the market operates in a manner that ensures greatest efficiency. For example competition ensures that the most efficient firm survives. Competition ensures that the students with higher marks or best studies get admission into prestigious colleges. And then get the best jobs. In all cases the 'best' refers to that which ensures the greatest material rewards.
(8) Views that humans naturally like to compete has to be understood critically like all other naturalist explanations (see page 8 of earlier book). Competition as a desirable value flourished with the onset of capitalism. Read the extracts in the box and discuss.
(9) Competition, and the whole laissez-faire economy of 19th century capitalism, may have been important in promoting economic growth. The exceptionally rapid development of the American economy may be attributable to the greater scope of competition in the United States. But still we cannot produce any exact correlations between the extent of competition, or the intensity of the competitive spirit, and the rate of economic growth in different societies. And on the other hand, there are grounds for supposing that competition has other less welcome effects.
