In the U.S., the stated aim of antitrust law is preserving competition in the marketplace to the benefit of consumers, but it has often been deployed against business decisions that would have proven beneficial to both customers and investors. Competitive markets are themselves the best insurance against monopoly, when they are allowed to function. No depth of expert knowledge in government enforcement agencies can rival the price signals and incentives of the marketplace.

Antitrust action also faces a public choice problem in that regulators often exercise their powers to promote their own preferred policy positions. This dynamic leads to intense lobbying by regulated entities both for relief from regulation and for the benefits of barriers to entry that limit competition from potential rivals. The Competitive Enterprise Institutes advocates abolishing antitrust law, removing remaining government monopolies, and preventing the creation of new ones.

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Wal-Mart — Predator or Prey?

In 1991, three retail pharmacies in Faulkner County, Arkansas, sued Wal-Mart for selling pharmaceutical items at predatorily low prices. The plaintiffs claimed that Wal-Mart's below-cost…

Antitrust

Staff & Scholars

Richard Morrison

Senior Fellow

  • Antitrust
  • Business and Government
  • Capitalism and Free Enterprise

Iain Murray

Vice President for Strategy and Senior Fellow

  • Banking and Finance
  • Trade and International

Clyde Wayne Crews

Fred L. Smith Fellow in Regulatory Studies

  • Business and Government
  • Consumer Freedom
  • Deregulation

Ryan Young

Senior Economist

  • Antitrust
  • Business and Government
  • Regulatory Reform

Jessica Melugin

Director of the Center for Technology & Innovation

  • Antitrust
  • Innovation
  • Media, Speech and Internet Freedoms