Perfect competition
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Perfectly competitive firms are identical with a theoretical infinite number of them.
Thus, it's "perfect" competition. And in-turn, impossible to "get ahead" and be a leader.
There are many sellers.
Translation: There's an infinite number of firms to compete against... impossible to get ahead.
They are selling the same product.
Translation: Everyone's selling the exact same thing... can't upsell & get ahead.
They are price takers. That's why their marginal revenue is horizontal.
Translation: They must take the market price, no matter how many units they sell.
There are no barriers of entry / exit.
Translation: If the market's good (in the short-run), you can join and make profit. If it's bad, you can leave. This... once again prevents anyone from getting ahead.
Dairy farmers.
There's many of them, and they're producing the same thing! (ex: milk, cheese, etc.)
When given a list of firm characteristics and asked to identify ones describing perfect competition...
Can you identify the number of firms in perfectly competitive markets?
Can you classify the product differentiation between sellers in perfect competition?
Can you describe why perfectly competitive firms are price makers vs. takers?
Can you recognize how the MR curve looks in perfect competition?
Can you distinguish if perfect competition has high vs. low barriers of entry/exit?