"The ideology of capitalism (meritocracy, equality of opportunity, individualism, etc.) with its interpretive frameworks (seeing the world as a limited-sum game, etc.) produces a conception of competition that shapes and sustains economic practice and labor relations. Hegemonic capitalist ideology organizes the dominant understanding of competition both within classes and between them. In terms of competition within classes, the ideology highlights, on the one hand, competition in the marketplace, claiming it gives rise to high quality goods at consumer-friendly prices as owners compete with one another for market share. On the other hand, capitalist ideology renders competition among workers as a matter-of-fact part of American life and depicts competition as a “noble” American practice closely associated with the virtue of hard work. One who does not strive to “win” or strive to be “better” (measured against someone else), is unmotivated or a “loser.” The ideology of capitalism also encourages workers to seek satisfaction from how well they do their job, not necessarily from how much they get paid, and to treasure the intrinsic rewards of work. Competition, it seems, embodies all that is noble and good in the human heart-at least the “American” heart. The structure of capitalism forces workers to sell their labor for wages, minimizes surplus accumulation among workers, and discourages alternative economic means such as communal or state ownership of the means of production and distribution. These structural factors, combined with the ideology, encourage competition among workers in practice, or in everyday action."