COMPETITION vs. CONFLICT

Competition is all around us, is part of everyday life and is universal in world of living things. In our society, for instance, is competition for jobs, for goods, power, social position, fame and more other things. Acquiring the skills necessary to compete effectively can be of considerable value. Moreover, competition in a cooperative, playful context can be fun. It enables one to enact and experience, in a non-serious setting, symbolic emotional dramas relating to victory and defeat, life and death, power and helplessness, dominance and submission; these dramas have deep personal and cultural roots. In addition, competition is a useful social mechanism for selecting those who are more able to perform the activities involved in competition.

Competition takes the form of conflict only when it becomes conscious, when competitors identify one another as rivals or as enemies, and they perceive a threat to their needs, interests and concerns. 

“Nothing is given to man on earth. Struggle is built into the nature of life, and conflict is possible. The hero is the man who lets no obstacle prevent him from pursing the values he has chosen” 

Both competition and conflict are forms of interaction; competition is a struggle between individuals or groups of individuals who are not necessarily in contact, while conflict is a contest in which contact is a compulsory condition. Competition is unconscious and impersonal. Conflict, on the other hand, is always conscious and personal and it involves the deepest emotions, attention, effort, hostility and violent interference.

Competition implies an absence of coercion – competitors are obliged to conform to some rules of the competitive struggle. In conflict, however, the parties seek to obtain their goals by any means (using fraud, physical force, etc).

In general, we may say that the competition determines the position of the individuals in the community, while conflict fixes its place in society.

Conflict is inevitable, pervasive and important aspect of social life. It is a relational concept that involves the interaction of people or groups in society. Conflicts are generated by differences in ideas, values and beliefs. On the one hand, it can serve to enhance relations, increase productivity, reinforce social standards and provide opportunities. On the other hand, conflicts can create dysfunction and disorder in society, destroy relationships and cause pain. In its extreme forms brings war and destruction of lives and properties.

Conflicts can exist at a variety of levels: economic, international, interpersonal, organizational, military, racial, etc.

Throughout the history of mankind competition over the control and exploitation of natural resources (land, raw materials, energy resources, petroleum, water, etc) has been the cause of many armed conflicts including civil wars, social strife and military conflicts

between nations. (Ex: World War I, II, The Cold War, the continuing Arab-Israeli War, etc)