Is "healthy competition" an oxymoron?

A movie I watched today, made me wonder about the negative effects of competition. By definition, a competition has winners and losers. One winner and many losers. That means one person feels great and many people feel lousy.

So what's the point?

How come competition is so encouraged? How come we glorify winning? How come kids are singled out by the teachers and coaches as special? How is this constructive?

I imagine that people who approve of competition may say that the drive to win encourages you to improve yourself. While on the surface that may appear to be the case, the reality of the situation differs greatly. If Joe is a star football player and Moe is the second-best, Moe doesn't really care to be a better player, he just cares to outperform Joe so that he can be the star. It's no longer about the game, it's about Joe. About beating Joe. If Joe were to suddenly transfer to another school, Moe no longer cares to improve his game because he has no one to worry about. I agree that if Joe and Moe are in the same school, Moe might improve his game, but I think we undermine the importance of the underlying motive.

I truly believe in the saying "No man is an island." We don't live alone and the world is not a race. It's a society, a community and it needs harmony, not competition.

Imagine you're an amazing baseball player. One of a kind. In a team, you're most definitely the star. Now imagine, no team member will play with you. Maybe you're really cocky, or just an ass, or maybe you show off too much. Whatever the reason may be, others will not play with you. Suddenly, your talent is not so useful. Since baseball is a team game, and no one will play with you, you're unable to play. So obviously, the world is not your mountain.

Yet the schools encourage competition even at an early age. Spelling bees, assembly awards. So do sports. What's the purpose of competitive sports at a young age? At an age where the kids cannot understand the difference between "just getting the other guy out of the picture" and "being the best I can be." What's the value in making a seven year old feel like a loser? Singling a kid out. Causing the children to view their classmates as people they have to beat to get ahead.

Yet the world often operates because everyone plays his part. We learn to work with others to deliver big projects, ones we couldn't have completed on our own. We team up with other people who have similar interests or beliefs to start organizations. Almost every major change in the world is the result of a team, not one person.

So why not encourage teamwork instead?

Previously? Blank Slate.