Contrary to those who prattle “competition versus cooperation,” capitalism is the only system where voluntary cooperation can exist, as it banishes the initiation of physical force from all relationships, making all exchanges voluntary.
Contrast this with the “cooperation” of collectivist societies, where one man must “cooperate” with another, lest he desires to be fined, thrown in prison, or have a lead bullet pumped into his skull.
Capitalist competition is the most economical/practical form of social cooperation, where every producer competes to see who can best cooperate (trade) with every consumer. Such is the nature of capitalist competition.
The key to the success of capitalist competition is that it limits competition to the economic sphere of production, and removes competition from the political arena of compulsion. Where capitalist competition leads to a free market; political competition leads to a mixed economy of warring pressure groups and if continued for long — a dictatorship.