ABSTRACT
This chapter will focus on what is competition and what is its role within the context of a capitalist economy by examining the various definitions of competition as provided by various philosophers and economists including Thomas Hobbes, Adam Smith, Karl Marx, Frédéric Bastiat, Fukuzawa Yukichi, and Joseph Schumpeter. This is followed by an overview of the current state of competition in certain capitalist economies such as the United States. Based on this, the author suggests the existence of contradictory influences that competition has on capitalist market economies where on the one hand it is the driver behind innovation but on the other it is also a force that, if left unchecked, may lead to excessive market concentration and a monopoly economy. The author concludes that it is primarily for this reason, the possibility that a monopoly economy may arise if competition is unchecked, that many nations now have laws, known as competition laws, to regulate the excesses of competition and that most of these laws share the common objectives of protecting competition and consumer welfare.
