Every life form lives in communities of like and unlike. Human create communities of communities of communities.

What defines a HEALTHY community? We might say "success" but then we must ask how do healthy communities succeed?

Healthy communities succeed when the individuals (which can be individual life entities or individual communities) cooperate and compete successfully for themselves and the community. Communities are defined by cooperation. Where there is no cooperation, there is no community.

However, total cooperation becomes stagnation. Moving forward, for individuals or communities requires competition. Communities define "fair competition." Individuals or communities who practice "unfair competition" risk being excluded form the community.

All acts of cooperation and all acts of competition are subject to the ever changing risks of losing independence or being excluded which must be weighed against the benefits of the act.

It sounds complicated. But, that's what life forms and communities do - balance cooperation and competition. The successful are those that are able to find the right balance between cooperation and competition on an ongoing basis.