Considering How to Use Competition and Conflict
Dear Alfie,
Yes, I think conflict and competition are not necessarily compatible—or incompatible. One can be for one, both, or neither! Indeed, the "resolution" of conflict is not always related to "winning," but often enough just to "clarifying." At its best, both "sides" are ahead in a good argument, for example. I engage in internal thought-conflicts with myself if I've no one to argue with. And I "enjoy" reading or hearing an opponent's view (when it isn't formed in grossly disrespectful language) as a way of testing out my own ideas, and noting their weaknesses.
Yet the most powerful changes of mind that I've engaged in happened slowly and at times unnoticeably for quite a long time. Aha, I realized not so long ago, I no longer believe in "revolutionary" change—in people, institutions, or societies. In fact, I'm suspicious of them. But I was a thoughtful and independent-minded socialist who, while I
Yes, I think conflict and competition are not necessarily compatible—or incompatible. One can be for one, both, or neither! Indeed, the "resolution" of conflict is not always related to "winning," but often enough just to "clarifying." At its best, both "sides" are ahead in a good argument, for example. I engage in internal thought-conflicts with myself if I've no one to argue with. And I "enjoy" reading or hearing an opponent's view (when it isn't formed in grossly disrespectful language) as a way of testing out my own ideas, and noting their weaknesses.
Yet the most powerful changes of mind that I've engaged in happened slowly and at times unnoticeably for quite a long time. Aha, I realized not so long ago, I no longer believe in "revolutionary" change—in people, institutions, or societies. In fact, I'm suspicious of them. But I was a thoughtful and independent-minded socialist who, while I
