It's a baseline norm of biology, which some humans are more willing to accept than others. "Survival of the fittest" implies that some are more fit; that is, some are winners and some are losers.
As long as energy cannot be created ex nihilo, this world will be fundamentally competitive. Wishing really hard won't work until someone wishes hard enough to undo the law of conservation of energy.
If most people are not willing to accept this, that explains a lot about tribe and power dynamics.
>I could just as easily say that people like yourself attempt to indoctrinate people with the notion that Darwinian competition is the unalterable way of the world in order to inculcate a combination of stoicism and paranoia that will inhibit them from coordinating with each other to limit your predatory activities. See, I can make up specious motivations for my interlocutors too.
Sure, there are people who make that assertion. That's fine? I think it's called a disagreement.
That's a worldview you choose to hold because it suits your capitalistic philosophy. I've literally fought for my life in dark alleys and I don't agree with your claim - the fact that competition exists and can even be deadly does not establish it as the baseline norm of human behavior.
a lot of this socialization is provided by people who simply don't want you to become a strong competitor, and have indoctrinated this imaginary, soft, cushiony world into everyone's brains so that it's easier for them to come in and take what they want
I could just as easily say that people like yourself attempt to indoctrinate people with the notion that Darwinian competition is the unalterable way of the world in order to inculcate a combination of stoicism and paranoia that will inhibit them from coordinating with each other to limit your predatory activities. See, I can make up specious motivations for my interlocutors too.