Howard Rheingold agrees with me (well that’s a relief) competition is over-rated. Social Darwinism- the struggle to the top of the pile is not the only thing going on in natural (including human) systems.

You only have to scratch the surface of ecologies in nature to find deep levels of cooperation. If it is not cooperation you find, it will be healthy levels of accommodation. Foxes, coyotes and wolves for example. Although man has often depicted these three creatures as highly competitive studies have shown that each them avoid bloodshed when ever possible. By carefully carving their stomping grounds into appropriate niches each ‘dog’ pretty much keeps to their own turf - avoiding bloody and unnecessary combat.

Howard Rheingold gave a very thoughtful talk on the topic of collaboration at TED. Here it is: