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Old 03-01-2012, 10:45 PM   #82
Kevin Leavitt
 
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Location: Olympia, Washington
Join Date: Jul 2002
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Re: How to be non-competitive in a competitive world

there are many examples. Communism based on Marxism attempted to put some good theories together to eliminate competition, yet in the end people work to screw each other over. Yes, you could say it is because of the competitive mine of the individual and I would agree. So how do you change that?

Capitalism is based on communism coupled with democracy embraces the competitive mind and works with it. It actually works because it encourages a natural instinct in people to work together to win. Sure in theory it would be nice to get people to work together, but that requires a degree of altruism that simply does not exsist.

Competition or a competitive environment can create a situation in which it is advantageous for people to work together. We do it all the time in the Military in basic training and it specialized training in Special ops.

Personally, I believe, as Jon stated that Aikido is not so much about eliminating the competitive mind, but recognizing that it exsist and using a process for us to deal with the realities of human nature, not to try and change it globally. As I have stated earlier, Aikido is about self and embrace what is human.

You already know that greed and corruption are bad. We all know that. So how do you stop it? How to you create the conditions and space necessary to help others that are so lost see that there are alternatives?

Aikido iand budo s about solutions, not theory.

So let's agree that this competition is bad as defined as corruption, greed, and oppression. Can you agree that the human mind is, well human?

If so, then how do you work with it? How does Aikido work to change people from greed to cooperation and a more peaceful do existence? What is it in budo or Aikido that can lead to that? Why is it unique? What does it offer that everything else fails?

Let's stop arguing about the definition, agree that suffering is wrong, and talk a little more concrete on how budo alleviates it.

I think you guys are barking up the wrong tree. On the right street, but the cat is in another tree. Not the macro topic of competition or competive mind.

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