COMPETITION vs.

CONFLICT

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
- Andrew Bernstein

I love the winning, I can take the losing, but most of all I Love to Play.

- Boris Becker

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.
If you want to understand the urge to compete, consider the rat. Male wild rats fight each
other as a matter of course. When an adult male so much as tries to enter a territory
already claimed by another, there is a battle royal. The losing rat dies soon after not
from any wounds, which are usually superficial, but from sheer humiliation. Rats, in
other words, are about as competitive as you can get.

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.
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)

ANA-MARIA CHIRANUS
1ST YEAR, 2ND SEMESTER
MASTER OF ARTS IN CONFLICT AND CRISIS MANAGEMENT
17 March 2010
NEGOTIATION COURSE