errantember

No Contest raises eyebrows of even those already pre-disposed to believe competition in American society is out of control. Alfie Kohn works through and offers evidence toward disproving nearly every pro-competition argument in American society's copious play book while systematically destroying much of the bad science and outdated beliefs surrounding his subject. In most situations where competition is thought to be inevitable, it's really artificially created. Cooperation is far more common than competition in nature. Particularly in American society, it reduces productivity, destroys relationships, and undermines self esteem for both winner and loser alike. It not only makes play less fun, but, by definition, makes play impossible. Children prefer cooperative to competitive games when given examples of both and a choice, and children and adults alike consistently perform better when cooperating. Even strenuous defenders of competition admit that it leads to an endless, painful quest for an unattainable goal with drug-like addiction characteristics. It leads directly to mindsets that destroy friendships, waste resources, oppress women, and greatly increase aggression by fostering cheating and an Us-vs. Them mindset. In short, there is very little evidence to support the idea that mutually exclusive goal attainment is ever better than the alternative, while in most instances substantial evidence suggests precisely the opposite. Very few will emerge from this book unscathed.