The opponentis of the capitalis1t system have claimed for a long time that society could be changeid b y v.oh111t a ry inter.vention and he organised on new principl•es. T'he soci ety whi ch th ey want to su'bstitiute for the tradiitiona'I one, would b e aib le to· opera te without the principl es of competition and private inHiative. Foll owin g the analyse·s of such thinkers as Mises, Hayek, Lippmann, Ropke and m a ny others, and in the Hght of recent experiments in pla1rned economy, the rdiscu1s1sions which •have been carri ed on fo r a l1on g time h av·e fa1ken a new rdireotion and acquired mu ch more ·lucidity th an ev er before. Now we iknow better what would 'b e our lo·s.ses and ga in s if we were to d estroy the princip'les o·f competi tion and priva1te owne11ship. In this essay we intend to an a1yse certa in o f the •social and economic functiiom of th e principl e o·f comp etiti on, one of th e fund aime nital bases of tradiHonal society. A study of this •kind h as an eco nomic and sxiological character a·t the ·sam e time, sinoc it is sociology w'hi ch deals wit'h tih e run cti ona·I 11cla ti onships !b etween d iHerent social institutions.

The opponentis of the capitalis1t system have claimed for a long time that society could be changeid b y v.oh111t a ry inter.vention and he organised on new principl•es. T'he soci ety whi ch th ey want to su'bstitiute for the tradiitiona'I one, would b e aib le to· opera te without the principl es of competition and private inHiative. Foll owin g the analyse·s of such thinkers as Mises, Hayek, Lippmann, Ropke and m a ny others, and in the Hght of recent experiments in pla1rned economy, the rdiscu1s1sions which •have been carri ed on fo r a l1on g time h av·e fa1ken a new rdireotion and acquired mu ch more ·lucidity th an ev er before. Now we iknow better what would 'b e our lo·s.ses and ga in s if we were to d estroy the princip'les o·f competi tion and priva1te owne11ship. In this essay we intend to an a1yse certa in o f the •social and economic functiiom of th e principl e o·f comp etiti on, one of th e fund aime nital bases of tradiHonal society. A study of this •kind h as an eco nomic and sxiological character a·t the ·sam e time, sinoc it is sociology w'hi ch deals wit'h tih e run cti ona·I 11cla ti onships !b etween d iHerent social institutions.