Free Winners and Losers. Competition within the Society Essay Sample

A person lives in a social environment, where not only moral ideas, values and public relations, but also self-worth is important. An individual seeks to present all the abilities and talents in his/her possession to the public so that the society may offer him/her a reward. Given the fact that the same skills can be provided by the other members of the society, the person begins to strive to achieve excellence, and be the best in order to get the maximum reward possible. Such behavior results in rivalry, which is called competition. In the modern science, this concept has appeared only recently and has been viewed positively as the competition was the main driving force of the economic relations, and thus, the development of the society. However, not all the authors support this point of view. In particular, Berry claims that as a purely economic concept, the competition often does not take into account the moral and ethical standards of the society, and sometimes neglects them completely. As a result, the outcome of a competitive struggle, which is often conducted by utilizing any means possible, is the division of the people on winners and losers, with the obvious negative consequences for the latter ones. The problem is further exacerbated by the cynical attitude towards the losers, which is common for the economic relations but is unacceptable in the terms of ethics and morality. In turn, this situation presents an ethical dilemma as the winning party improves its self-worth and well-being at the expense of the losing one. Moreover, the fact that competition has become an integral part of the global economy, and, therefore, the society, contributes to the cultural significance of this issue. Thus, the following essay is dedicated to the study of an ethical side of competition, including its winning and losing sides, within the society, as well as finding the possible solution of the presented ethical dilemma.

In the ethical terms, the competition between people can be fair and unfair. Fair competition implies the existence of such qualities as dignity, efficiency, human desire to achieve new results, the need to acquire knowledge, and polish the professional skills. It is considered that, in this case, a person consciously develops his/her skills and reaches the heights of public recognition and personal inner satisfaction. However, the competition in the society can be built on the use of unfair methods, violating a customary law and the moral values. Internal human selfishness, high self-esteem, as well as the desire to achieve the goal by any means, is converted into a struggle with the use of unfair and inhumane methods. Such competition may cause mental and physical suffering and undermine the principle of equity. Still, its outcome will be the division of the participants on winners and losers. One may say that this process can be much less painful and fair if the competition is overviewed, i.e. there is a judge, namely the State. However, there are certain conditions: the judge must be honest and incorruptible, the competition should be conducted on fair rules, and there must be a reward.

Since the ancient times, the best reward for the man was money and power. At the same time, they also are the main resource that corrupts the moral character of the individual. However, there is nothing strange in it since the protection of resources requires the use of any means available, including force; otherwise, the competition will be lost. Moreover, the State based on the concept of competition will primarily care about becoming a winner, thus being a stakeholder rather than a judge. It occurs because the concept of competition has physiological motivation. Based on the considerations about individuals that make up any society, the idea of competition imperceptibly becomes the right of a strong one, which affects the relations of within the society.

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Thus, the State will never be an honest judge as it consists of individuals that are not alien to social competition. By using its position of mediator, the state collects the cream from all members of society through the issuance of rules i.e. laws. However, the laws are always on the side of the State, so it is always a winner. Certainly, it takes care of the financially vulnerable segments of the population, the so-called losers, but no more than of its well-being and not more than required by the terms of their survival. The final nail in the coffin of the State as a fair judge is driven by an average official, who does not want to lose the competitive race to his neighbors workers and employers. Therefore, he will squeeze the most out of his powers for the personal gain, in order to come out on top as a winner.

As a result, everyone competes with the other people for money, because, with its help, one can buy anything, including power, and thus win the competition. Starting from school, the children learn that the competition is good, and the competitiveness is a trait of a successful person. Still, not all families are successful in this world, namely the majority of them. As was mentioned before, this fact contributes to the development of a stratified society, which is common throughout the world. In such circumstances, people develop a desire to possess unavailable benefits, which is further supported by an infinite and omnipresent advertising an important element of competition. Thus, the competition is not only the driving force of the economy, but also the stimulus of a human desire, namely the one of being among the winners.

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Thus, it is possible to say that competition drives a wedge between the people, always having a negative impact on the one of the participants, and changes their attitude towards the world around them. As a result, one may ask if it is possible to create the society that is free of it. Competition is a struggle for economic survival, with the strongest as a winner, which is considered the driving force that is able to push the human society forward, forcing it to develop. It should be noted that the creative work for the benefit of the society and people has a similar effect. The need for public recognition is a natural trait of a human as a social being, which is based on a desire to be useful to society, and be considered relevant and necessary. In such a society, people will be extremely sensitive to a public approval or censure. Most of all, they will cherish the respect of their fellow citizens, more likely to be afraid of losing it. Thus, the people will not compete in the terms of the enrichment at the expense of the others but in providing benefits for them. However, such a society can be considered utopian since the very concept of competition and, therefore, the winning and losing side, has been etched in the minds of many generations and cannot be abolished easily.

As a conclusion, it is possible to say that it is impossible to define the role of competition unambiguously. In its essence, it is inseparably linked with the evolution of society, the free market, money, and the new technologies. However, at the same time, it leads to a confrontation within the stratified society and social degradation of its members, and, therefore, numerous ethical dilemmas. For the most part, the people involved in it are fighting for every inch of living space and personal gain, determined to achieve the desired goal by any means. Therefore, it seems that as a positive factor of the development of society, the competition is almost completely exhausted, reaching its bottom. Thus, it is possible to assume that it needs to be replaced by a new paradigm of development. However, this paradigm is yet to be defined.

 

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