Thorstein Veblen's Views On Competition

Competition

Competition has always been prominent in society. Some people say that the prominence of competition in our society is a bad thing, while others say that it is good and pushes us to advance as a society. In The Theory of the Leisure Class Thorstein Veblen’s writes about the impact competition has on an individual, and the exchange between the two students illustrate Veblen’s statement. Both of these passages imply that competition and comparison is human nature, but they both prohibit man from ever being fully satisfied.
Veblen uses the example of wealth in his writing, however this concept of competition applies to all aspects of society. He says that individuals are constantly trying to increase the margin between themselves and what is considered the standard for society. Individuals are constantly trying to be better than the people around them. Because comparison fuels competition, this …show more content…
The first student believed that competition was human nature and without it people would have a lack of motivation to improve. This student’s goal was to get the very best grade, therefore he studied extra hard. One can see from the first student’s example that competition pushes people to surpass the standard. In Veblen’s passage he writes that although man surpasses the standard, the man’s longing to be the best will never be satisfied because of competition. The second student disliked competition and it’s prominence in society. He believes that competition hinders an individual’s happiness. He thought that if people would stop comparing themselves to other people than the world would be a much better place. This student did not work as hard as the first student because he did not want to give in to the competitive nature of the school’s grading system. He realized that no matter how good his grade was it would not bring him