--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: You can't have cutthroat competition when…" description: "\"You can't have cutthroat competition when there's no one stopping you from actually cutting each other's throats. In order to build up trust we also ha..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/352/david-graeber-4667_competition_you-can-t-have-cutthroat-competition-whe_2768569.jpg" --- # You can't have cutthroat competition when there's no one… ![“You can't have cutthroat competition when there's no one stopping you from actually cutting each other's throats. In order to build up trust we also have to think about each other's needs and it creates an entirely different dynamic.” quote by David Graeber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/352/david-graeber-4667_competition_you-can-t-have-cutthroat-competition-whe_2768569.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/352/david-graeber-4667_competition_you-can-t-have-cutthroat-competition-whe_2768569.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/352/david-graeber-4667_competition_you-can-t-have-cutthroat-competition-whe_2768569.jpg) > “You can't have cutthroat competition when there's no one stopping you from actually cutting each other's throats. In order to build up trust we also have to think about each other's needs and it creates an entirely different dynamic.” [David Graeber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-graeber/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. He argues that fierce competition erodes trust, urging cooperation and mutual care to reshape social dynamics. **In simple terms:** Competition harms trust; cooperation builds it. Key Takeaway Foster collaborative environments. Themes economics social theory trust Mood critical thoughtful Type philosophical analytical When to use this quote - workplace teams - community building - conflict resolution - policy design Key Concepts competition cooperation social cohesion power dynamics Questions to Reflect On - What incentives promote mutual care? - How to balance competition and collaboration? A Different Perspective Cooperation can be hard to achieve. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Build Trust](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/build-trust/) [Competition](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/competition/) [Cutthroat Competition](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cutthroat-competition-3225865/) [Cutting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cutting/) [Different](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/different/) [Needs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/needs/) [Order](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/order/) [Stopping](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stopping/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) [Throat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/throat/) [Trust](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/trust/) [Trust Think](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/trust-think-343482/) ## Related quotes > [Trust on and think To-morrow will repay; To-morrow's falser than the former day; Lies worse; and while it says, we shall be blest With…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-dryden/trust-on-and-think-to-morrow-will-repay-to-morrow-s-falser-than-the/) [John Dryden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-dryden/) > [You have trust in what you think. If you splinter yourself and try to please everyone, you can’t. It’s important to stay the course.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-leibovitz/you-have-trust-in-what-you-think-if-you-splinter-yourself-and-try-to/) [Annie Leibovitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-leibovitz/) > [Trust those you think you can before you trust those you know you cant.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vikrant-parsai/trust-those-you-think-you-can-before-you-trust-those-you-know-you-cant/) [Vikrant Parsai](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vikrant-parsai/) > [I have to trust you, and I think I do but I doubt myself so much it's hard to believe I'm your only one.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-have-to-trust-you-and-i-think-i-do-but-i-doubt-myself-so-much-it-s/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Every step in every proud life is a run from safety to the dark, and the only thing to trust is what we think…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-bach/every-step-in-every-proud-life-is-a-run-from-safety-to-the-dark-and/) [Richard Bach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-bach/) > [“You know …» She stares at her bare feet, then speaks again. «The shit we’ve been through … I think it was good that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bridie-hall/you-know-she-stares-at-her-bare-feet-then-speaks-again-the-shit-we-ve/) [Bridie Hall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bridie-hall/) > [Republicans trust you to think for yourselves and to pursue your American dream however you see fit.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-cameron/republicans-trust-you-to-think-for-yourselves-and-to-pursue-your/) [Daniel Cameron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-cameron/) > [Never trust anything that can think for itself if you can't see where it keeps its brain.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/never-trust-anything-that-can-think-for-itself-if-you-can-t-see-where/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Then trust me. 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And He'll see justice done in His…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lisa-tawn-bergren/we-all-belong-to-him-from-the-cradle-to-the-grave-whether-we-know-it/) [Lisa Tawn Bergren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lisa-tawn-bergren/) > [Trust yourself, think for yourself, act for you're self speak for yourself. be you're self.that's it!!!!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nosemaj/trust-yourself-think-for-yourself-act-for-you-re-self-speak-for/) [Nosemaj](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nosemaj/) > [“We can trust Him even when we think our words lacked something; even when we do not think we communicated as effectively as we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-headley/we-can-trust-him-even-when-we-think-our-words-lacked-something-even/) [Anthony Headley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-headley/) > [A more important reason is that the bands will intuitively trust someone they think is a peer, and who speaks fondly of the same…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-albini/a-more-important-reason-is-that-the-bands-will-intuitively-trust/) [Steve Albini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-albini/) ## More by David Graeber > [People don't have an ongoing relation unless it's a form of debt because everything is an exchange, so ongoing relationships are incomplete exchanges, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-graeber/people-don-t-have-an-ongoing-relation-unless-it-s-a-form-of-debt/) [David Graeber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-graeber/) > [I would like, then, to end by putting in a good word for the non-industrious poor. At least they aren’t hurting anyone. Insofar as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-graeber/i-would-like-then-to-end-by-putting-in-a-good-word-for-the-non/) [David Graeber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-graeber/) > [“But if Smith was right, and gold and silver became money through the natural workings of the market completely independently of governments, then wouldn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-graeber/but-if-smith-was-right-and-gold-and-silver-became-money-through-the/) [David Graeber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-graeber/) > [“A revolution on a world scale will take a very long time. But it is also possible to recognize that it is already starting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-graeber/a-revolution-on-a-world-scale-will-take-a-very-long-time-but-it-is/) [David Graeber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-graeber/) > [“money has no essence. It's not "really" anything; therefore, its nature has always been and presumably always will be a matter of political conten­tion.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-graeber/money-has-no-essence-it-s-not-really-anything-therefore-its-nature/) [David Graeber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-graeber/) > [We don't live in a capitalist totality. Capitalism couldn't survive as a totality anyway. We live in this complex system and we already live…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-graeber/we-don-t-live-in-a-capitalist-totality-capitalism-couldn-t-survive-as/) [David Graeber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-graeber/) > [“About the only thing we can imagine is catastrophe.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-graeber/about-the-only-thing-we-can-imagine-is-catastrophe/) [David Graeber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-graeber/) > [The working poor are the people suffering out subprime mortgages and fatal loans and more and more of our money - you know, capitalism…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-graeber/the-working-poor-are-the-people-suffering-out-subprime-mortgages-and/) [David Graeber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-graeber/) > [“Solitary pleasures will always exist, but for most human beings, the most pleasurable activities almost always involve sharing something: music, food, liquor, drugs, gossip,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-graeber/solitary-pleasures-will-always-exist-but-for-most-human-beings-the/) [David Graeber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-graeber/) > [“IMF is really designed to protect creditors not debtors.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-graeber/imf-is-really-designed-to-protect-creditors-not-debtors/) [David Graeber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-graeber/) > [“The criminalization of debt, then, was the criminalization of the very basis of human society. It cannot be overemphasized that in a small community,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-graeber/the-criminalization-of-debt-then-was-the-criminalization-of-the-very/) [David Graeber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-graeber/) > [If you imagine that everything is an exchange, then we're supposed to just transact and walk away. If we haven't walked away and we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-graeber/if-you-imagine-that-everything-is-an-exchange-then-we-re-supposed-to/) [David Graeber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-graeber/) > [“As Pierre Bourdieu was later to point out in describing a similar economy of trust in contemporary Algeria: it’s quite possible to turn honor…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-graeber/as-pierre-bourdieu-was-later-to-point-out-in-describing-a-similar/) [David Graeber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-graeber/) > [ \[A\] great embarrassing fact… haunts all attempts to represent the market as the highest form of human freedom: that historically, impersonal, commercial markets originate… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-graeber/a-great-embarrassing-fact-haunts-all-attempts-to-represent-the-market/) [David Graeber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-graeber/) > [“As the events of 2011 reveal, the age of revolutions is by no means over. The human imagination stubbornly refuses to die. And the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-graeber/as-the-events-of-2011-reveal-the-age-of-revolutions-is-by-no-means/) [David Graeber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-graeber/) [Explore all 106 David Graeber quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-graeber/) ## More Competition quotes > [The Copa del Rey is a different competition. It is football in its purest form and is different from the continuity of the league.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-laudrup/the-copa-del-rey-is-a-different-competition-it-is-football-in-its/) [Michael Laudrup](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-laudrup/) > [I can skate beautifully. While performing on ice I always try to please the audience and to win as well. Being artistic is very…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/evgeni-plushenko/i-can-skate-beautifully-while-performing-on-ice-i-always-try-to/) [Evgeni Plushenko](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/evgeni-plushenko/) > [I don't believe in competitions between artists. This is insane. Who has the authority to say someone is better?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-arkin/i-don-t-believe-in-competitions-between-artists-this-is-insane-who/) [Alan Arkin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-arkin/) > [People think that the Club World Cup is an easy competition, but it's not.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/keylor-navas/people-think-that-the-club-world-cup-is-an-easy-competition-but-it-s/) [Keylor Navas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/keylor-navas/) > [If you ask another competitor, they may tell you they felt very competitive towards me. But I can tell you that my biggest competition…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-kwan/if-you-ask-another-competitor-they-may-tell-you-they-felt-very/) [Michelle Kwan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelle-kwan/) > [“At times, competition can be a good thing. But a person's value isn't something that can be ranked, is it?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hotaru-odagiri/at-times-competition-can-be-a-good-thing-but-a-person-s-value-isn-t/) [Hotaru Odagiri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hotaru-odagiri/) > [Our competition has always been anything that is wasting your time when you're bored at work. In a broad sense. We want people to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexis-ohanian/our-competition-has-always-been-anything-that-is-wasting-your-time/) [Alexis Ohanian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexis-ohanian/) > [I've always considered making it legal for Americans to import their prescription drugs a free-trade issue. Imports create competition and keep domestic industry more…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-grassley/i-ve-always-considered-making-it-legal-for-americans-to-import-their/) [Chuck Grassley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-grassley/) > [Honestly, we’ll compete with everybody. I love competition. As long as people invent their own stuff, I love competition.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-cook/honestly-we-ll-compete-with-everybody-i-love-competition-as-long-as/) [Tim Cook](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-cook/) > [The "health, education, and welfare" section of government is another boondoggle. First we manufacture indigent and superfluous people by legal monopolies in land, money…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurance-labadie/the-health-education-and-welfare-section-of-government-is-another/) [Laurance Labadie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurance-labadie/) > [I try to keep up with everything - all wrestling across the board. I want to know what the competition is doing, what the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matt-hardy/i-try-to-keep-up-with-everything-all-wrestling-across-the-board-i/) [Matt Hardy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matt-hardy/) > [Sometimes in England, people look down at the Europa League, but being from the continent, I've always realised what an important competition it is.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-mignolet/sometimes-in-england-people-look-down-at-the-europa-league-but-being/) [Simon Mignolet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-mignolet/) > [“There is a scene in one of the Rocky movies where after the match Apollo Creed and Rocky are waiting for the scoring of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-a-passaro/there-is-a-scene-in-one-of-the-rocky-movies-where-after-the-match/) [John A. Passaro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-a-passaro/) > [I've always written. When I was in school, the only teacher who ever liked me was my creative writing teacher. I used to enter…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/justin-townes-earle/i-ve-always-written-when-i-was-in-school-the-only-teacher-who-ever/) [Justin Townes Earle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/justin-townes-earle/) > [Competition between men is a fuel that's useful to us. We have to be careful that it doesn't tell the same story over too…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-irwin/competition-between-men-is-a-fuel-that-s-useful-to-us-we-have-to-be/) [Bill Irwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-irwin/) [Browse all 3,894 Competition quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/competition/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "You can't have cutthroat competition when there's no one stopping you from actually cutting each other's throats. 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