Final answer:
In perfect competition, individual buyers and sellers cannot influence the market price; they must accept the market price as it is. Price controls by the government can disrupt the natural balancing of markets through flexible pricing mechanisms.
Step-by-step explanation:
In a perfectly competitive market, individual buyers and sellers cannot influence the market price by their own actions or by joining with a few of their competitors. Instead, they must take the market price as a given. This concept is fundamental to understanding how markets operate, particularly in regard to market equilibrium and price controls. The flexibility of prices allows markets to reach equilibrium, with buyers and sellers acting independently and competing with each other, being well informed of market conditions, and having the freedom to enter and exit the market at will. Price controls, which are government regulations that dictate prices, can disrupt this balance and lead to inefficiencies.