He who interprets the conduct of business as trickery is on the wrong path. The characteristic feature of games is the antagonism of two or more players or groups of players. As soon as they begin to antagonize one another, a tendency toward social disintegration emerges. Within the frame of a market economy competition does not involve antagonism in the sense in which this term is applied to the hostile clash of incompatible interests. Competition, it is true, may sometimes or even often evoke in the competitors those passions of hatred and malice which usually accompany the intention of inflicting evil on other people.
Psychologists are therefore prone to confuse combat and competition.
But praxeology must beware of such artificial and misleading difference between catallactic competition and combat. Competitors aim at excellence and preeminence in accomplishments within a system of mutual cooperation. The function of competition is to assign to every member of a social system that position in which he can best serve the whole of society and all its members. It is a method of selecting the most able man for each performance. Where there is social cooperation, there some variety of selection must be applied.