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Competition in the natural world is typically zero sum. In the human world cooperation and competition aren't mutually exclusive, and in fact we tend to build s
by wahern 5y ago
Competition in the natural world is typically zero sum. In the human world cooperation and competition aren't mutually exclusive, and in fact we tend to build societies that leverage competition for mutual gain--i.e. cooperative competition. In any event, I think the point is that [altruistic, non-kin, systemic] cooperation is the distinguishing characteristic of the human species, not that it's the only dynamic at play or even the one that predominates across all discrete social interactions.
- necovek 5y agoVery nicely put, that was exactly my point.
- trashtester 5y ago> Competition in the natural world is typically zero sum. Evolution itself can be seen as a positive sum. Without it, even single-celled organisms would not exist. Evolution, through natural selection, can be seen as driven by competion between pieces of information (genes), much more than it is competition between individuals. (all individuals die eventually, so for them the game may be zero sum). Similarily, competition within human culture also produce positive (or in some cases negative) sum effects that need to be closely tied to individuals, but more often to memes/ideas (and sometimes, still, genes). When Henry Ford introduced the assembly line, he did benefit personally (some of the profit was spent on introducing a minimum wage and 5 day work week), but soon, competition would force everyone to use the same idea. Depending on your point of view, this can be seen as positive sum (increased productivity, less work) or negative (fewer and more boring jobs in manufacturing).