ABSTRACT
The atomistic theory of competition is a pure intellectual construction that does not allow one to understand competition in the real world. The traditional theory has an obsession with what is called a 'monopoly power' and the pure and perfect competition model is constructed in such a way that nobody has such power over others. Public authorities tackle situations in which freedom of entry does exist and they decline to accept global free trade, which would constitute the best competition policy. In fact, experience proves that, in an economy protected from international competition, producers have much less incentive to innovate because the impulse given to the 'discovery process' is much lightened. One of the ways by which public authorities restrict the entry into a market is protectionism. Competition is characterised not only by the freedom of choice of consumers and producers, but by the free functioning of the financial market.
