Competition Versus Collaboration

In our lives we are often faced with two contrasting strategies: competition or collaboration. In simple terms when we set goals we can either choose to exclude others from the goal - competition - or to include others in the goal - collaboration. The strategies are often combined when one group of individuals collaborates together to exclude another group from a desired goal.

This fact of life is so prevalent in our psyche that we devote much of our leisure time to the art, science and practice of it - also known as sport. Perhaps this is our racial memory at practice, a compulsion in our essence of being.

In the metaphysics of life these are the two agendas.

Not surprisingly most dimensions of faith, belief, reasoning and politics are roughly lined up along these agendas:

• the right doctrine favors competition
• while the left favors collaboration

To be sure, there is overlap and variation but for now let's just keep things simple. In practice for any particular agenda any individual or group has, these are the two basic templates for all agendas.

So which agenda is better? It's hard to say without defining 'better' but we should keep in mind:

• Without mechanisms like collaboration multi-cellular lifeforms would not have evolved and we would not be what we are.
• Without competition humans would not be the dominant species on the planet.

For now let's just assume that there is a natural tension and balance in our lives between competition and collaboration. By that definition then any agenda that is too competitive or too collaborative, that is too right or too left is consequently 'unbalanced.'

Why would some one or some group choose an unbalanced way of life? As a species humans are incredibly adaptable, but as individuals we are less adaptable and tend to specialize, especially as we get older and more experienced - most of us like to stick to what we know best, and what skills and talents emerge to support what we know best. Some people find it more satisfying to realize their goals by emphasizing a competitive or right agenda while other find it more satisfying to emphasize a collaborative or left agenda. Statistically individuals tend to line up in the middle, probably along he lines of a normal distribution. However, due to culture, entire populations of individuals may be entirely shifted to the right or the left - for example, Americans are generally seen to be more right shifted than Europeans who are generally seen to be more left shifted.

For the purpose of this blog, I am assuming only two frameworks or templates of agendas. This is not necessarily true or accurate, but it goes a long way to simplify the narrative.