Competition And Happiness By Theodore Isaac Rubin

Competition and Happiness
In the essay “Competition and Happiness”, Theodore Isaac Rubin argues that competition limits people’s ability to lead pleasant and happy lives by destroying one’s inner self and relationship among people. Disagreeing with the most people, Rubin thinks that competition causes a “self-depleting cycle” making people feel self-abased and isolated. Through competition, people are always comparing themselves to other people, so they are never satisfied and happy. According to Rubin, in Switzerland, a country without competition, the relationship among students is much closer than other countries. However, in the United States, even good friends can be separated because of competition. This difference illustrates how competition …show more content…
Despite of countries or cities, we need hierarchies and different kinds of job to maintain and regulate the society. So people have to divide their jobs and get jobs done. But how could we decide who would do the job which is more decisive and has higher wage? In this way, competition is a tool distinguishing people based on their abilities, so that capable people get a greater opportunity to contribute to the society. Comparing election system and hereditary system, we can see how competition influences a country. In the United States, under the election system, competition is everywhere, so only competent person can be selected as a president. As a fact, the Unites States is a well-developed and organized country. The advanced technology makes people’s lives convenient; the well-written law makes people’s lives safe. On the contrary, in North Korea, prime minister is passed to next generations, even they are not well educated and talent. The lack of competition and cliché of rules cause the country undeveloped, and people have no rights to fight against. Unfortunately, some people in North Korea don’t even have enough basic needs of daily life. The difference between a country with competition and a country without competition is obvious. Living in a powerful and peaceful country is the basic need for people to be happy and satisfied. As a …show more content…
I don’t believe that competition makes “our lives seem purposeless”, Rubin claims. In fact, one can gain self-confidence by inspiring one’s potential during competition. Based on my experiences, I am always satisfied and proud of myself after a competition or just finishing a task that I couldn’t imagine before. I had an interview for a secretarial position in an accounting firm during the summer. There were five people fighting for that position, but only one of us could be hired. At the beginning, I couldn’t even speak in front of people. In order to be competitive, I made myself talk to mirror every day. Finally, I overcame my weakness and won the position. Moreover, during the preparation, I also learned lots of knowledge about accounting, which I was not able to learn at school. Competition gives me a sense of achievement which spurs me on to greater efforts. It forms a positive cycle to my personality and can surely improve my future life. Therefore, even if competition throws one to a tension, one can explore a better self from that situation. If people live without any competition, they would stay what they are before, so that they would never know how well they are. Thus, competition must exist and be faced through every one’s