It can if it's unhealthy competition, but I think a lot of the time competition only makes everyone strive to be better, and that's a good thing.

Competition allows us to strive harder, allowing us to give it our best. The problem is that people need to learn you can't win every fight.

Not so black and white

Compete with yourself not others. Beat your own persoanl bests but everyone working towards a greater good, each doing the best they can.

I think that in general the exact opposite is true. Wanting to come up with something new and better is precisely what makes a progressive society.

I agree with lefty. Healthy competition helps one strive to succeed.

Usually, competition causes people to try harder to succeed(sp).

No, competition makes you want to win more.

Besides personal competition, there is competition among companies. This copmetition certainly doesn't hinder progress, rather, breeds it.

Whenever two companies are vying for the same customers, there will invariably be progress made in terms of quality, price, and manufacturing efficiency.

The greatest example may perhaps be Henry Ford and his assembly line, but there are millions of examples of competition encouraging progress.

^^

Pardon the typo on the word competition in the first paragraph. I am too lazy to delete the whole post and type it again.

I agree with ohlefty. Competition brings out the best in people, at least with regards to how hard they'll work.

I think competition could only help. I was thinking more along the lines of companies rather than people though.
In people, wanting to be the fastest, best, or have the most acan sometimes cause them to not think things through completely, leading to a second rate version of themselves.

Competition helps progress.

Competition helps! Although can b a bad thing if u keep losing or dont do as good as ur competition

no competition MAKES progress
if you dont have to compete
you dont have to be better so
there is no progress

i cant believe s many people voted yes for this

Competition does indeed create progress, however not all competition is between people. Man competes against the environment and other non-human animals everyday. Man competes against the obstacles of space travel. Man even competes against himself. Many things do not require man competing with each other as there is already competition taking place and as such teamwork against said competition is better so long as all competitors strive to succeed.

Man competed with prey animals for survival. It took working together for man to win the battle for survival by killing and eating the animal. While doing so man also competed with other predators to catch such food.

If two humans competed while bringing down a wooly rhinocerous, chances are someone would have died and things would not have turned out well. Competitions helps only if you are competing with the right obstacle and hinders if it's the wrong one.

no, it helps it, most of the time that is

No. We (as humans)would have never put a man in space if the Soviet Union and the U.S had been in a space race.

hmmmm...

S.U. vs. U.S...

Creepy... but too late now to matter, i guess.

i think competition makes progress. it sometimes doesnt make the outcome good tho. people are worried about being first so they take shortcuts and the final product is messed up.

no not hardly

sort of. for example, the reason there arent more clean power stations (wind, solar, etc) is because it costs too much. the companies want to make money.

Not at all - If anything - Competeion promotes progress as people or companies must continue to progress to remain competitive.

In the long run it does