Abstract: Competitiveness is a fundamental attribute of human existence and from this attribute arises the need and impetus for order construction. Order, viewed from the perspective of competition, manifests first as ranking among individuals. Therefore, to establish order means to clarify interpersonal ranking, to attain which contest and examination are two effective methods. Contest operates bottom-up, generating a spontaneous order; examination operates top-down, producing an authoritative order. Theoretically, contest and examination apply to different domains; in practice, however, domains of contest are increasingly penetrated by examination, causing more and more contests to incorporate elements of examination and making order construction based on competition an ever more potent mechanism for the reproduction of authority.

Key words: competition, contest, examination, authority, order construction