Critical Reflection #1 – Jonathan Ziebarth 

For my critical response I will be reflecting on a passage from the book I am currently reading, Zero To One, By Peter Thiel & Blake Masters. 

In Chapter 4, Thiel reflects on the Ideology of competition, he explains “that a creative monopoly means new products that benefit everybody, & sustainable profits for the creator meanwhile, competition means no profits for anybody, no meaningful differentiation and a struggle for survival.“

After reading this I started to wonder what exactly I was supposed to get out of this. Then I asked myself an even more important question, If the statement above is true, then why are we conditioned to believe that competition is not only healthy, but necessary. What’s the point, why do we value competition the way we do? 

I understand the economic concept of competition, however, that concept only describes a phenomenon that appears in the marketplace, and there is no real explanation for why we value the idea of competition in the first place. 

As I sit here and write this I can’t help but think about how competition has become the defining ideology that we as human beings feed off of, whether we know it or not. 

The ideology of competition has not only distorted our reality in terms of business, but in terms of education. The system in which I have grown up in has forever internalized the ideology of competition and spread these ideas by consistently pinning me and my fellow classmates against each other, whether intentional or not. The use of grades as a metric for understanding and competence, the use of standardized testing for college acceptance to measure the worth of a child, has forever engraved the ideology of competition.

So as I go back to my original question of, What’s the point, why do we value competition the way we do?

The answer is simple, we value competition for the most simplistic reason, we as human beings are conditioned to compete in such a way that goes as far back as Pre K. 

The book Zero To One By Peter Thiel & Blake Masters has taught me a lot over the last couple of days, it has not only changed my perspective, but my life paradigm. However, most importantly it has made me think critically about my business idea, and has me more excited than ever. 

Anyone who is thinking about being an entrepreneur should read this book, it will forever change the way you think. – But even if entrepreneurship isn’t for you, it is still a good book to read. 

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