COMPETITION, the act of endeavor ing to gain what another endeavors to gain at the same time. In political economy it is simply the form taken by the struggle for existence as applied to industry. Formerly, prices and gener ally the economic relations of men to each other were regulated by custom or authority. The growth of freedom has now brought it about that these rela tions are determined by individual effort. In medimval times the relations of men were fixed by custom or authority. But the restraints of custom and authority were felt to be vexatious, oppressive, and injurious, and in the various spheres of human activity, in religion, politics, and economics, the free individuality of men sought and found wider room to develop itself. This great movement began with the revival of learning, the discovery of America, and the Protestant Reforma tion and has been continued through the revolutions of the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries. In the industrial sphere it
means that whereas in former times a man's calling, place of residence, and the remuneration of his industry were fixed for him, he is now at liberty to decide them for himself as best he can. The English trades-unions are an attempt to regulate competition in the interest of labor. Employers' combinations have a like object in the interests of the capital ist. In the United States especially the development of "trusts" tends to make competition a dead letter, but recent leg islation has curbed their power. The protective systems of France, Germany, and the United States are intended to maintain native industries against Brit ish competition.