Perfect Competition and Demand Curve

Hey,

I am a bit confused on the two concepts:

  1. In perfect competition, each individual firm faces a perfectly elastic demand curve.

  2. In perfect competition, the market demand curve is downward sloping.

So the market demand curve is not perfectly elastic?

Is anyone able to clarify this?

Thanks!

It’s a calculus thing: the sum of an infinite number of infinitesimal, flat demand curves is not a flat demand curve.

Don’t worry about it; take it as given and move on. There are a lot more important things to wrestle to the ground.

noted. thanks!

You’re welcome.