Competition and the con-job of cooperation

Pictures from the past week seem to drive home an insight about the symbiotic nature of rivalry and camaraderie. And leave you with a question about your own self...

Organisms looking to survive in a world with scarce resources are subjects, if not slaves, under the rule of evolution. There is no escaping the law of natural selection. If you live, you have needs.

For Daily:04/09/16:Ramanathapuram:Squirrel and Crow feeding on rice in Ramanathapuram on Sunday.Tamil Nadu.Photo:L_Balachandar [stand alone]

^ A squirrel and crow eye the same mound of rice on a ledge in Ramanathapuram, on September 4, 2016. | L. Balachandar

And given that other organisms, driven by the same needs, too stake a claim on the same resources...

Kochi, Kerala, 04/09/2016: A scene from the Eroor-Chambakkara boat race in the Chambakkara backwaters near Kochi on Sunday. Photo : Thulasi Kakkat

^ Competitors participate in the Eroor-Chambakkara boa race in the Chambakkara backwaters near Kochi on Sunday. | Thulasi Kakkat

... we have competition. The pitting of strengths, the battle for excellence, the race to the trophy.

And if we are to compete effectively in a chaotic world, in which a challenge can emerge around every next corner, we must be constantly braced, in a perpetual and unblinking state of preparation and alertness. And so...

CHENNAI, 10/09/2016 : For Tamil Nadu Desk :The passing-out parade of cadets during their graduation ceremony at the Officers Training Academy in Chennai on Saturday. Photo: B. Jothi Ramalingam

^ Cadets perform a drill during the passing-out parade of their graduation ceremony at the Officers Training Academy in Chennai on Saturday. | B. Jothi Ramalingam

... we hone our skills, our minds, our bodies, so that when the clarion calls, we are primed to respond effectively in defence of our interests and territory. We psych ourselves up, suffuse our limbs with energy, and make adrenaline a habit, a way of life, a credo. However, there's a fine line between protecting one's interests and...

Mysuru Karnataka: 10 09 2016: Police personnels cleaning the cannons for the forthcoming Dasara festivities in Mysuru on Saturday. PHOTO: M.A.SRIRAM -

^ Police personnel clean cannons for the forthcoming Dasara festivities in Mysuru on Saturday. | M.A. Sriram

... preempting assault to accumulate power. Not simply content with manning a stronghold, a species, with the advantage of technology and a slight surplus of adrenaline, can find its competitive instinct boil over into a quest for conquest. Once you set out to conquer and control, though, you not only antagonise your rivals, but also...

^ A demonstrator locks eyes with a riot policeman during a protest marking the country's 1973 military coup in Santiago, Chile, on September 11, 2016. | Reuters

... your own. For, you see, all forms of control infringe on freewill. Any form of authority is anathema to individuals who are driven by the same urge to survive and thrive that the species as a whole is.

The key, then, is to strive for...

^ A police officer dances with a resident, an unconventional approach to connect the police with the community in rough neighbourhoods, as part of the "Tirando Barrio" (Marking territory) programme in Saltillo, Northern Mexico September 9, 2016. | Reuters

... cooperation, rather than control. When interests intermingle, bonds form, and people come together, competition is obviated. Where is the need to clash when we can produce and create with the concerted dance of life? Society is...

2016 Rio Paralympics - Athletics - Men's 200m - T42 Final - Olympic Stadium - Rio de Janeiro, Brazil - 11/09/2016. Richard Whitehead of Britain celebrates after winning the gold medal in the event. REUTERS/Jason Cairnduff TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY FOR EDITORIAL USE ONLY. NOT FOR SALE FOR MARKETING OR ADVERTISING CAMPAIGNS.

^ Richard Whitehead of Britain celebrates after winning the gold medal in the Men's 200m final at the 2016 Paralympics at Rio de Janeiro, on Sunday. | Reuters

... crippled by the scarcity of resources. But society derives its strength from cooperation and conciliation. But, for this sense of cooperation to emerge, people, the pillars of society, need to be persuaded that their role and function is to contribute to the stability and success of society at large. Is this a classic paradox? If freewill needs to be enlisted and mobilised in the fulfilment of society's interests, then does the will truly remain free? After all...

Pune 07/09/2016 An elephant from Rambo circus went berserk at Bhosari in Pune creating panic in the area. Photo: Dattatray Adhalge

^ An elephant from Rambo circus went berserk at Bhosari in Pune on Wednesday. | Dattatray Adhalge

... if left unchecked in its nudest state, freewill would run amok, posing danger to society as a whole and infringing away on other freewills.

So, here's the question...

ADILABAD,TELANGANA,06/09/2016:STANDALONE PHOTO-Being animal from the dry Kutch area of Gujarat, camels are not known to be familiar with flowing waters of tropical hill streams. The animal here seems to be enjoying cooling off in the meagre waters of one such stream watched by his owner, a Rabari pastoralist in Jainoor mandal of Adilabad district on Tuesday.-Photo: S. Harpal Singh - ADILABAD,TELANGANA,06/09/2016:STANDALONE PHOTO-Being animal from the dry Kutch area of Gujarat, camels are not known to be familiar with flowing waters of tropical hill streams. The animal here seems to be enjoying cooling off in the meagre waters of one such stream watched by his owner, a Rabari pastoralist in Jainoor mandal of Adilabad district on Tuesday.-Photo: S. Harpal Singh

^ Camels, endemic to the dry Kutch area of Gujarat, are unfamiliar with flowing waters of tropical hill streams. The animal here enjoys a cooling-off in a thin streamlet as its owner, Rabari pastoralist, holds its leash. | Harpal Singh

... Is it OK for society to subjugate freewill in the larger interest if it allows it, every now and then, to refresh its individuality with periodical bursts of recreation and leisure? Freewill will not feel the need to rebel if it is made to feel secure in its autonomy, will it?