ABSTRACT
WE HAVE discussed in the foregoing chapters both the perfectly competitive behavior of the individual person and firm and the consequences for the economy as a whole of all its members being in a perfectly competitive position. This discussion, it will be recalled, was not meant to be a realistic description of any past or present economy but served merely to define the meaning and state the conditions of efficiency in economics. For we came to the conclusion that perfect competition on both sides of every market would lead to an efficient organization of all aspects of economic life, and that perfect competition can therefore be used as a standard of perfection by which to appraise the efficiency or inefficiency of real economic systems. But although this is the only purpose to which we shall put the theory of perfect competition, it will nevertheless be useful to ask ourselves the question: Would perfect competition, if somehow enforced or brought about, not only bring about but also maintain perfect efficiency?
