Often colliding in the sharing economy are the ideas of collaboration and competition. Sometimes you even see both at the same time. Sometimes they appear to be a contrast. But they may actually be complementary.
The winner takes it all…
Competition, and particularly athletic competition, is an ancient Greek value. Lots of people, from then until now, have loved wrestling and playing various sports in order to "win." It may not always be clear to us why we want to win. But the rewards of winning are often clear. More prestige, higher income, fame, and everything that comes with it. Even for those who don't care particularly about the prize, competition is often a way to hone an edge, to make you better at something. For a long time I played chess in my high school chess team because I liked the way it made me think. The competition helped me think a little bit faster, a little bit better. I didn't get prestige or money as a result, but maybe I did get a tiny bit smarter.
…or better together ?
Collaboration gives us lots of obvious benefits as well. We have the benefit of "team spirit," the integration of different talents, and the possibility of undertaking large projects that are in the common good, etc. If competition makes us focus on the moment and makes us feel good when we win, collaboration has the potential to make us feel good all the time. Sometimes the two combine in interesting ways. When I taught English in rural Japan, the school children always divided into teams for various types of competition, each team dressed in a different color. There was always competition, but the winners were always teams and not individuals. The idea you couldn't have an individual winner was fascinating and certainly had a psychological impact. Obviously competition can be a lot more ruthless than in a game. Sometimes people lose everything: their livelihood, their means to live, even their lives. But one of the ideas that drive competition is that if there is no risk involved, you won't be sufficiently motivated to move forward. You'll only be half in, instead of all in. And then you will be half-hearted. I think sometimes projects based on collaboration lose to those based on competition on this basis alone. Those drawn to the competition are used to risking something for something else. So they work hard to minimize the risk and to win. Those working on the basis of collaboration alone are probably happier in general, but not as worried about succeeding. So they don't.
Taking the best from both worlds
One strange fact of life is that wars are often the times when people collaborate the best. The sense of risk draws people together to do amazing things. The internet was created by people fighting a "cold war." Then the war ended. Most of the next few decades were spent populating it with porn and social networks. It's quite likely that we need both collaboration and competition in different contexts. One of my favorite examples is the jousting tournaments of the middle ages. Despite many efforts of the church to outlaw them, men ran around trying to knock each other off horses with long pointy sticks. Some people even died. But lots of people had great fun at the same time. It was a bonding experience even between those who fought each other. Even more for those who loved each other. Maybe there's something to learn here.
We give our best when there is some risk involved to us, and if the risk includes something significant (e.g. our lives), the more likely we are to give our absolute best.
And when we give our absolute best, great things can happen. That's no reason to start new wars, especially those that threaten to kill millions of people, but it might be a good reason to have jousts. Competition with a collaborative base may be the best type. You can do your absolute best, whacking your opponent into submission, then hugging him. Although watch out if you try to steal his woman. Competition can be very serious, but we shouldn't take it too seriously. Games which people take too seriously end up not being very fun. And, whatever the moralists of our age say, we should try to have as much fun as possible, whenever possible. So pick up your sword and come at me, I dare you. Photo credit: Senicus Tiber via photopincc