In capitalist systems the aim of free competition ostensibly is to provide the greatest opportunity and incentive for productivity and the positive exploitation of resources, and the widest possible availability and distribution of goods and services; but the profit motive restricts overall development and wastes both material and human resources. The former may cause inflation through scarcity; and the latter tends to widen the gap between the rich and the poor. Exploitation on a national level may spread to exploitation on an international level (such as colonialism, imperialism), and may cause rivalry for the dominance of underdeveloped nations.