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Humane Modes of Competition

By Andrew Gebert

Competition is the pervasive reality of the world in which we live. In every field of endeavor, people strive all out, conscious of who runs ahead and who might be closing in from behind. Between societies and different parts of the globe, competition--much of it grotesquely unfair--pits individuals and populations against each other. And on the macro-level of great shaping ideas, peace competes with war, equity with exploitation, sustainability with unbridled consumption.

Similar realities were clearly in the sights of Tsunesaburo Makiguchi, founding president of the Soka Gakkai, as he wrote his first major work, The Geography of Human Life, published in Japanese in 1903. In the final chapters of this book he offers a social history of competition.

The earliest and most primitive mode of competition, according to Makiguchi, is military. As social organization grew more sophisticated, this was supplanted by political competition, which he saw as based on the effective deployment of mental as opposed to physical prowess. In his day he saw political competition giving way to economic competition marked by the struggle for access to raw materials and markets.

Although Makiguchi described these different modes of competition, as a kind of evolution, he clearly did not consider this to be a straight-line upwards progression. He was, in fact, conscious that in many ways economic competition--being pervasive, open-ended and largely unconscious--can be more devastating in its impact than military conflict. Nor did he expect that a shift in the dominant mode of competition meant that other forms had been abandoned. He understood, for example, that the outbreak of military competition remained a distinct possibility, an insight borne out a decade later with the start of World War I.

But Makiguchi does not stop there. He offers a vision of what he terms humane or humanitarian competition (jindoteki kyoso), predicting that this will become the dominant form of competition in the future.

The Power of Character

Makiguchi describes humanitarian competition as the achievement of goals through the mobilization of "intangible moral influence." This is the power of character, which we can see clearly at work in our daily social interactions.

Extrapolating from this, Makiguchi declares that there is no reason that this cannot come into play even in international relations. Makiguchi asserts that it is possible for all forms of competition to be conducted in a humane manner.

Even so, the very idea of humanitarian competition may strike many as an odd pairing of concepts. In what sense can competition be humane?

Makiguchi saw competition as a source of energy and dynamism. People will typically run faster in actual competition than in even all-out training. The presence of an opponent, the sense of competition, enables us to access deeper levels of performance. Everyday life is filled with the small and large benefits that arise from people striving to be the best in their respective fields.

But what are the conditions that ensure competition will function in this manner, producing exhilaration rather than simple anxiety, mutual elevation rather than a stark and permanent winnowing out of life's "losers"?

Makiguchi recognized competition and cooperation as twinned or complementary ideas.

Competition that is humane is embedded in an underlying fabric of cooperation. Agreements on systems of rules and structures keep competitors "in the same ring," so that interaction, mutual stimulation and learning can occur over time.

Finally, when Makiguchi speaks of a competition to exert "intangible moral influence," he is clearly pointing to inner-oriented modes of competition that is, ultimately, against ourselves. Our full excellence can never be unleashed while we wish for the other runner to stumble.

Today, NGOs compete to run successful development projects. Governments compete in emergency relief efforts, often using the great organizational and logistical skills of their militaries. Increasingly, too, businesses recognize that genuine commitment to social and environmental issues is one key to success.

Clearly, competition is not a cure-all that fixes all social ills. Nor is it inherently destructive or evil. It is a powerful force deeply rooted in the human psyche that we can, through our wise choices, harness to the cause of human happiness.

Andrew Gebert is a doctoral candidate at Waseda University and a translator and researcher at the Institute of Oriental Philosophy in Tokyo.

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