Antitrust: The Case for Repeal

Professor Dominic Armentano makes the case that all antitrust laws are BS (from the introduction):

Since antitrust regulation (at least the Sherman Act) was allegedly designed to prohibit business activity harmfulto consumers’ interests, much of antitrust policy as practiced, appears terribly misguided and might be termed a“paradox.”

The alleged paradox can be explained in several ways. One approach is to challenge the “public interest” origins of antitrust policy. If the laws were originally meant to protect less efficient business organizations from competition rather than to promote the interests of consumers, then there is no paradox. From that perspective, antitrust regulation is just another historical example of protectionist rent-seeking legislation, the overall effect of which is to lessen economic efficiency.

The subject of monopolies and antitrust legislation interests me because what we've been taught in government schools has really been one side of the argument. The simplified version of which is companies are bad, government is good. What Professor Armentano basically argues is that government can and often does more harm than good.

You can read his book for free in PDF form here

For a video discussion on this topic with Dr. Armentano and newly re-elected Congressman Dr. Ron Paul click here