ABSTRACT
In the discussion of a free-price economy, full use and balanced use of resources are usually confused or treated as one, their practical significances are quite different. In most of agriculture before crop control was instituted, farmers maintained production so long as the prices they expected were above the direct operating costs they expected to incur—and taxes, depreciation, and interest were not included in operating costs. The character of first degree competition can be seen more clearly by examining the typical price determining procedure in modern industry. In the past, trust busting, to the extent it has been effective, has been effective in the maintenance of first degree competition. When an industry became so concentrated that extensive monopoly profits were being made, antitrust procedures have often been successful in breaking up a monopolizing concern into several more or less independent concerns.
