Competition is the backbone of a capitalist economy. Every producer has to fend off competing producers who are attempting to win consumer money. Many socialists will tell you that competition is one of the problems with capitalism as it is necessarily combative instead of cooperative. I’m just going to say this as plainly as possible: that criticism is utter bullshit.
Competition, as far as a market is concerned, is striving for excellence in the service of others. How can I claim this? Doesn’t competition require one to be cutthroat and pull every dirty trick in the book to decimante your competitors? No. Competition in a market requires you to fulfill the wants and needs of consumers and the winner is the producer who best fulfills those wants and desires.
Mind you I’m not talking about a system based on cronyism as we currently have in the United States (then winning is accomplished by political connections to ensure legislation favorable to yourself and detrimental to your competition is passed). Instead I’m talking about free-markets unencumbered but government regulations and influence. In a system based on free-markets the consumers are the only ones who decide what succeeds and what fails. Each consumer gets a say in who will and won’t succeed so producers must serve the consumers.
It’s honestly one of the most free and beautiful systems ever devised by man and it’s a bloody shame it carries such a negative connotation with so many (most of whom have no idea what capitalism truly is).