Why do we live in a competitive society?

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As Catholics we are against socialism or communism. But we don’t seem to have any qualms about the idea of competing for our survival, a world where our well being is determined by having the best idea or out-competing the other guy. A guy can gain everything and a guy can literally lose everything and become homeless. Kind of like survival of the fittest. We have capitalism which seems to me to be a competition for the best way of life. .

We compete for our survival and quality of life (our Jobs).
We compete for a voice in society.
Even in school it seemed everybody was competing for something whether it be social recognition or dominance…

It’s almost as if we are unwittingly living out our Darwinian roots.

Why do we live in a competitive society?
 
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redbetta said:
Competition drives innovation.
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True, but i wouldn’t assume that nothing else could drive innovation. And even if it were true that only competition got everything done, doesn’t that disturb you? One could say that the success of capitalism (if you can call it that) is due to the fact that such a system best reflects the selfish mentality of human beings, that self interest is what motivates us. It doesn’t exactly speak kindly of us. Also with every competitive system there is going to be losers.
 
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The drive for survival is the Way of the World,
we are to be VICTIMS of the “survival of the Fittest”
mentality, the Spirit of Christ is in us and if we “walk
in the Spirit” we WILL face trouble/hardship/persecu-
tion, it is the “way of the Cross”.
 
Self-interest is really the way to get the maximum number of people on board with something because everybody is motivated by self-interest while not everyone is motivated by the common good. And that is how it’s always going to be in this world.

It’s a matter of pragmatism.
 
redbetta said:
Self-interest is really the way to get the maximum number of people on board with something because everybody is motivated by self-interest while not everyone is motivated by the common good. And that is how it’s always going to be in this world.

It’s a matter of pragmatism.
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Well then i guess that’s why Jesus said “for you will always have the poor with you.”.

I’m not sure i can morally advocate such a system,.

If that’s the kind of system people want then thank God for Tax and welfare because it’s clear that the market place is indifferent and favors the rich over the poor…and is essentially Darwinian in it’s functionality.
 
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Competition is embedded in who we are. It’s part of natural law. We can see it working around is in every animal and plant species. It’s firmly entwined in the substance of life itself.
 
they were better at competing and/or their parents were and they inherited it. also the world isn’t fair and certain people have more opportunities based on where they were born or what they were born into
 
SacredHeartBassist said:
Competition is embedded in who we are. It’s part of natural law. We can see it working around is in every animal and plant species. It’s firmly entwined in the substance of life itself.
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While we do see survival of the fittest in nature, i disagree that this must necessarily apply to us and our freely chosen actions. I think it’s in our nature to rise above the beast, but we choose to put self interest before the common good even when we have enough to see everyone’s well-being taken care of. It’s not that there is not enough, it is because we as human beings have chosen this state of affairs. We choose that. Poverty exist in the world because humans choose to let it exist. The poor will always be with us, because those who have - and i am sure they have many reasons to excuse themselves - choose to allow those circumstances to exist.
 
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huh? nothing i said contradicted that we choose to put some people down
 
redbetta said:
because everybody is motivated by self-interest while not everyone is motivated by the common good
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Hit the nail on the head!

We have to work at working for the common good. Self-interest is imbedded in who we are.
 
Because, through competition, we managed to crawl out of the caves eons ago and survive.

Do you suggest that survival is somehow wrong?

Do you suggest that merit is wrong?

Do you suggest that simply being mediocre is laudable?

In school, many were competing; often times, with their background and family status/background/weaknesses. Some were competing within themselves, against the limits of their abilities. Not everyone was competing with other students. Some simply chose mediocrity - a C was good enough.
 
No system is perfect. But, I’d much rather live in a competitive society than one in which bureaucrats waste a ton of money under the guise of fairness and “we know what’s best for you.” The current system takes one rather unsavory aspect inherent in all human beings and steers it towards something preductive and ends up benefiting everyone in some way.
 
otjm said:
Because, through competition, we managed to crawl out of the caves eons ago and survive.
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As opposed to everyone working together for everyone’s benefit? How you present it might be how it went down but that’s not enough for me to say it’s good.
otjm said:
Do you suggest that merit is wrong?
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A Merit system is not necessarily wrong. But it must never supersede human dignity. it shouldn’t be the case that if you only qualify for the lowest paid job that nobody wants, that therefore you should live in poverty. The lowest paid job in the world should never mean poverty or unnecessary hardship. The door should always be open to the reasonable possibility of progress and opportunity. Nobody should be struggling to keep the gas and electric on regardless of their merits… And then there is the fact that not everyone can qualify for good paying jobs because they do not naturally posses that level of skill or talent. That’s where capitalism is very Darwinian. Because if your natural skill or circumstances only allow you to work the lowest paid jobs and anyone can replace you at any time and you are breaking your back for long hours to make ends meet while not being guaranteed a sustainable contract, that is not your fault. And yet you are condemned to that level of existence where you are in competition with millions of people at the bottom of the barrel.
Not to mention that there is a great number of people that are well educated and are at the bottom of the barrel for no fault of their own and probably have a big debt to pay off for their education. Such is the competitive nature of the market. There is no point closing our eyes to that.
otjm said:
Do you suggest that simply being mediocre is laudable?
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If that is all you can achieve i don’t see why you should be punished and not everyone gets to go to the best schools and get the best education. Competition effects every facet of our existence it seems, and it’s an artificial construct, it’s not necessary…
 
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I think James explains it best…and just happens to be the daily readings this week!
 
Where else are we going to live, in a cave in a desert fed by ravens? 😉 I certainly can’t move to the next town down the road and escape all those competitive types. It requires drastic withdrawal to accomplish that.

If competition continues to pay off for people, they are not going to stop. So I’m not holding my breath.
 
Unfortunitly we are headed that way now where there is a few rich and everybody else will break there back and be replaced on a whim to feed the few.
 
I’m a Prince :prince:t2: walking among the common peasants! Feed my sheep 🐑
 
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