When is competition valuable?

I love words. I really love words.

Before I get too caught up in the word "competition" let's first take a look at the word "valuable." That is such a subjective word. What is of value to one person may not necessarily be of value to another. There are likely some "things" in life that are of value to most individuals or the general consensus of the human race, but to everyone. Not likely.

Now. Competition. Sociologically competition is a rivalry between two or more persons or groups for an object desired in common, usually resulting in a victor and a loser but not necessarily involving the destruction of the latter. This can be equated with many things in life such as sports, affectations or employment. Is this of value? I say again, that's subjective.

Ecologically competition is the struggle among organisms, both of the same and of different species, for food, space, and other vital requirements. Ecologically we all compete for survival. Or at least that's Darwin's thesis. Is it not? Survival of the fittest. Whether we are aware of this competition or not is irrelevant. We compete for survival. Is this of value? Probably. If for no other reason, population control. Yes, it would be nice to consider a world where we all shared and got along nicely, however it's not very realistic.  In this respect competition is likely of value. However, this is MHO.