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What if Competition Isn't As "Natural" As We Think?
Beyond Selfish Interests
Competitive self-interest, when revealed to be just behavior and not human nature, clears the way for better and richer solutions to tackle the looming problems of the future.
A mindset shift is needed to move away from competition and realize the symbioses that make life possible for millions of species.
Example: Short-sighted self-interest that results in continued fossil-fuel extraction is just greed and doesn't do any good for our species, or to life.
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Survival of The Fittest
The famous Charles Darwin theory, 'survival of the fittest' has turned into a cultural cliché. The theory proposes that living beings naturally fight and compete with each other to survive.
This competition is assumed to be natural and all-pervading, finding its way in capitalism and other collective behaviors of human beings.
Collaborative Interdependence
Hundreds of studies on plants and animal behavior in recent years reveal that living things, including humans, are in reality multispecies events of collaboration and interdependence.
This is seen in the way fungus helps nurture and connect trees, or the way algae and coral form a partnership to create colorful coral reefs.
Life is more complex and collaborative than previously thought.
The Climate Crisis
The recent findings which prove that competition is not natural, at least not more than collaboration, pave the way to think about our relationship with the planet, and the millions of species inhabiting it.
Environmentalists are tackling the climate crisis assume that people are by nature bound to harm ecology, and will consume and plunder the natural resources. This leaves them with a narrow set of solutions to control the crisis.
Beyond Selfish Interests
Competitive self-interest, when revealed to be just behavior and not human nature, clears the way for better and richer solutions to tackle the looming problems of the future.
A mindset shift is needed to move away from competition and realize the symbioses that make life possible for millions of species.
Example: Short-sighted self-interest that results in continued fossil-fuel extraction is just greed and doesn't do any good for our species, or to life.
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