The Democracy Papers: Paper Six
The Dangers of Unchecked Competition
Some people like to pretend that capitalism alone can keep us at peace. The logic goes something like this: if we’re all busy chasing profits, we won’t have time to fight. But history and common sense tell a different story. Economic rivalry doesn’t actually prevent conflict, it feeds it. And when competition goes unchecked… it creates chaos.
Let’s take a closer look at what happens when ambition, greed, and unchecked power take the wheel.
Competition Without Guardrails
It’s tempting to believe that innovation and economic growth can solve all our problems, but what happens when those driving the growth are only accountable to themselves? We’re living in a world where a handful of billionaires wield unprecedented power over our lives — economically, politically and definitely socially. People like Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos, and Mark Zuckerberg aren’t just business leaders; they’re oligarchs, shaping everything from how we communicate, what media we consume and share and even what kind of future we can imagine.
When the unchecked ambitions of a few dictate the terms for everyone else, the results are predictable: inequality deepens, communities fracture and the public loses faith in the system. Just look at the way tech monopolies crush competition, or how billionaires dodge taxes while the rest of us struggle to make ends meet. Left unchecked, this kind of economic warfare turns into social and political instability.
Sound familiar? It should. History is full of examples of how economic rivalry leads to conflict, and we’re not immune to the same fate.
Economic Ambition and Human Nature
Let’s be real though, humans are really ambitious. That’s not inherently bad. In his book Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us, Daniel H. Pink explores the complexities of human ambition and motivation, emphasizing that our drive extends beyond mere economic gain. He identifies three core elements that fuel intrinsic motivation:
- Autonomy: The desire to direct our own lives.
- Mastery: The urge to get better at something that matters.
- Purpose: The yearning to do what we do in the service of something larger than ourselves.
Pink argues that when these intrinsic motivators are nurtured, individuals achieve more and live richer lives. He states, "Human beings have an innate inner drive to be autonomous, self-determined, and connected to one another. And when that drive is liberated, people achieve more and live richer lives."
However, when ambition is channeled solely toward extrinsic rewards like money or status, it can lead to unethical behavior and short-term thinking. Pink warns, "The problem with making an extrinsic reward the only destination that matters is that some people will choose the quickest route there, even if it means taking the low road."
Ambition drives progress, builds businesses and can send us to infinity and beyond. But ambition without accountability is dangerous. Hamilton warned us about this over 200 years ago in the original Federalist Papers. He saw how personal rivalries, unchecked greed, and the pursuit of power led to chaos in ancient Greece, Renaissance Italy, and Europe’s never-ending wars.
Today, that same dynamic is playing out on a global scale. When tech giants decide they’re above the rules or governments refuse to rein in monopolies, we all pay the price.
The Modern Risks of Disunity
Now imagine if we didn’t have a federal government capable of stepping in when things get out of hand. Imagine states competing with one another like separate nations, each one vying for the attention of oligarchs or multinational corporations. It’s not hard to see how quickly that could devolve into chaos. States would undercut each other with tax incentives, businesses would play regions against each other, and foreign adversaries would seize on our divisions to gain influence.
We honestly don’t even need to imagine it, I mean, just look at the Texas power grid. Texas, operating its own independent energy grid to avoid federal regulations, chose to prioritize cost savings and deregulation over resilience. So, when the state was hit with a historic winter storm in 2021, millions of Texans were left without power, heat and clean water for days. The result was catastrophic damage, easily preventable deaths and a stark reminder that going it alone doesn’t work when systems fail. The Texas grid became a cautionary tale about how disunity and a lack of cooperation lead to disaster.
This example is a microcosm of what happens when individual states or factions prioritize short-term gains over the collective good. Without unity, those competitions will only intensify, leaving us weaker, poorer and less prepared for the challenges ahead.
Accountability and Cooperation
So, what’s the solution? It starts with recognizing that unchecked ambition and economic rivalry are threats to democracy, not drivers of it. A strong federal government isn’t only a safeguard against war; it’s also a safeguard against exploitation. It ensures that no state (or billionaire) gets to put their interests ahead of the common good.
Accountability is key. That means enforcing antitrust laws, closing loopholes that let the wealthy avoid paying their fair share and regulating industries that are too powerful to fail. It also means fostering cooperation, not competition, among states. When we all work together, we can negotiate better deals, protect our shared resources and create a future that benefits all of us, not just the 1%.
Unity as the Answer
Economic competition isn’t going away any time soon. It’s part of human nature. But without unity and accountability, it will become a destructive force that tears us apart instead of bringing us together. If we want to build a society where everyone has the chance to thrive, we need to stop treating billionaires like saviors and start treating them like what they are, players in a game that needs better rules.
As Hamilton might say, ambition is inevitable, but chaos isn’t. With the right structures in place, we can channel that ambition toward something greater than individual gain. That’s the power of unity. And it’s why we can’t afford to let disunity and unchecked competition be our reality.