CHAPTER IX COMPETITION v. CO-OPERATION
A comparison of competition with co-operation is a comparison of non-Socialism with Socialism.
For the principle of non-Socialism is competition, and the principle of Socialism is co-operation.
Non-Socialists tell us that competition is to the general advantage, because it lowers prices in favour of the consumer.
But competition in trade only seems desirable when we contrast it with private monopoly.
When we compare the effects of trade competition with the effects of State or Municipal co-operation, we find that competition is badly beaten.
Let us try to find the reasons of this.
The claim for the superior cheapness of competition rests on the theory that where two sellers compete against each other for trade each tries to undersell the other.