The origins of competition: institution and organization

Institutional conditions and organizational efforts are key for understanding how and why the elements constituting competition come about. Several contemporary institutions favour the construction of competition. States, organizations, and individuals are increasingly being seen as actors that are able to compete with each other, and globalization and other recent institutional developments have increased the number of relationships that they can construct. An impressive economic development during the last century has not prevented a continued sense of scarcity and new desires have emerged, not least the desire for status positions. Fourth parties organize social life in ways that create competition by intention or unintentionally. Organizers of contests in politics, markets, sports and many other sectors construct actors, relationships, and scarcity for something desired. Similar efforts have been an essential part of many recent reforms of organizations and markets. The increasing number of prizes and rankings in almost any area of life produces scarcity and is likely to create new desires for goods that per definition are scarce.