Trade practices law: a barrier to growth?

Few people would argue against the proposition that economic prosperity is fostered by competition, although there are startling disagreements between different authors as to exactly what the term 'competition' means. There is not even any agreement about the semantics: is competition a state, as described in elementary economics textbooks? Or is it an activity, its normal colloquial meaning, and the sense adopted by most management and marketing writers? If it is an activity, do competitors confront each other, as in a boxing match, or strive to reach a goal without interacting, as in athletics? Is it an individual contest, like the 100 metres? Or is it a team sport like football? If it is like footbal, what are the rules about tackling, shepherding or blocking, and offside? Equally to the point, if competition leads to prosperity, how?