Competition : : a multidisciplinary analysis / / Wade B. Worthen [and three others].

• Superior document: Transgressions: Cultural Studies and Education
• VerfasserIn: Worthen, Wade B.,
• Place / Publishing House: Rotterdam : : Sense Publishers,, [2009]; ©2009
• Year of Publication: 2009
• Language: English
• Series: Transgressions (Rotterdam, Netherlands)
• Physical Description: 1 online resource

The Super Bowl. Democrats vs. Republicans. Ford vs. Chevy. Bloods vs. Crips. Public vs. private schools. Sibling rivalries. Competition permeates every aspect of our society, and we place great confidence in its ability to allocate resources efficiently, spur innovation, and build personal character. As others have argued, competition is now a paradigm—a conceptual framework that is often taken for granted but rarely challenged. In this book, experts examine competition from their own disciplinary perspectives. From economics to philosophy, biology to education, and psychology to politics, the origins and applications of this paradigm are placed in historical context, its mechanics are analyzed, and its costs and benefits are assessed. The questions addressed in this book are important and varied. What is the historical genesis of the competition paradigm? How is competition manifest in our culture—in religion, politics, economics, sports, business, and education—and are its effects always beneficial? What can we learn about the mechanics of competition from studying nature? Are humans naturally competitive, or is it a learned behavior? How does competition affect our mental and physical well-being? Is competition the best strategy for allocating finite planetary resources to an expanding human population? The book also engages a cooperative alternative, and asks: Is there an ethical tension between competition and cooperation? Why have cooperative models been undervalued and marginalized? Can cooperation increase innovation and efficiency? This collection provides a broad, insightful, and productive examination of one of the dominant concepts of our time.

Table of Contents

Preliminary Material / Wade B. Worthen , A. Scott Henderson , Paul R. Rasmussen and T. Lloyd Benson -- Introduction: Competition and context in the Euro-Atlantic historical mind / T. Lloyd Benson -- Competition from a scientific perspective / Wade B. Worthen , A. Scott Henderson , Paul R. Rasmussen and T. Lloyd Benson -- Darwin’s entangled bank: The competition paradigm in ecology / Wade B. Worthen -- The global competition for planetary resources / C. Brannon Andersen and Weston R. Dripps -- Competition in the social sciences / Wade B. Worthen , A. Scott Henderson , Paul R. Rasmussen and T. Lloyd Benson -- Competition reconsidered: A perspective from psychology / Beth A. Pontari and Paul R. Rasmussen -- Competition in economics / Nathaniel P. S. Cook and Kailash Khandke -- A sociological approach to the competition paradigm / David E. Redburn -- Competition from the perspective of the humanities / Wade B. Worthen , A. Scott Henderson , Paul R. Rasmussen and T. Lloyd Benson -- Competition and religion: Abrahamic religions and Islam / Alfons H. Teipen -- The competition paradigm and modern politics / Aristide Tessitore -- Thrasymachus or Socrates: Some philosophical and pedagogical reflections on competition and cooperation / James C. Edwards -- Competition in sports, business, politics, and education / Wade B. Worthen , A. Scott Henderson , Paul R. Rasmussen and T. Lloyd Benson -- Competition in sport / William J. Pierce -- The paradigm of competition: The business perspective / Kirk R. Karwan and Thomas I. Smythe Jr. -- Gender and politics: How the competition paradigm determines who governs and how in American politics / Elizabeth S. Smith -- The brain race: Competition, national security, and the rise of federal aid to education / A. Scott Henderson -- Competition and education: How the market forces failure on and in our schools / Renita R. Schmidt and P. L. Thomas -- Conclusion: The future of competition / A. Scott Henderson -- Index / Wade B. Worthen , A. Scott Henderson , Paul R. Rasmussen and T. Lloyd Benson.