Traditional Co-operation and Competition

Traditional Co-operation and Competition
The cooperation that has held societies together throughout history may have originated in a spontaneous manner, but through repetition it has become established custom and tradition passed on from one generation to generation. The cooperation thus ingrained in a primitive tribe is called traditional cooperation.
Modern societies rely less on traditional cooperation than on cooperation that is directed by a third party who holds a position of authority. The third party may be an employer, a swimming instructor, a teacher etc. Modern societies also depend on Contractual cooperation, in which groups agree to co-operate in certain explicit ways. Contractual cooperation is found among groups and individuals. A group of young mothers, for examples, can agree among themselves to take turns caring for each other babies.
Competition is kind of co-operative conflict. In competition, individuals or groups struggle to reach the same goals but their main concern is directed towards the goals and not towards the competitors. As in conflict, one competitor will attain the goal. To prevent competition from degenerating into conflict, it is necessary for the parties to agree on the "rules of the game" and stick to them. This applies to competition in the market-place, competition among students in the class-room, and competition between football teams.