In the US, antitrust policy is supposed to benefit consumers. It does not work that way in practice. Companies game antitrust for their own benefit, competing in court rather than the market. Antitrust regulators are often partisan and ideological. Many progressive officials think big is automatically bad, even in cases where consumers benefit from lower prices or better products. Many conservatives favor using antitrust as another front in the culture wars, all but ignoring competition.

Consumers get forgotten in all the politics. The best way to protect consumers is to protect an open, competitive market process, in which companies succeed or fail based not on their political connections or ideological correctness, but on how well they serve consumers.

Antitrust regulation’s problems are structural and incurable. The Competitive Enterprise Institutes advocates abolishing antitrust law, removing remaining government monopolies, and preventing the creation of new ones.

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CEI Daily Update

Issues in the News  1. INTERNATIONAL Microsoft suffers a legal setback in Europe where it has been accused of anti-competitive practices.

Antitrust

Newsletter

CEI Daily Update

Issues in the News   1. ENVIRONMENT Danish scientist Bjørn Lomborg garners high-profile media attention for his new book, “Cool It:…

Antitrust

Blog

Partnership or Payola?

Geeks get technology, but they don't always understand economics. John C. Dvorak, one of the brightest journalists in tech, has recognized many of the important…

Antitrust

Op-Eds

Only You

Nearly 7 million copies of Time magazine's annual “Person of the Year” issue are set to arrive in mailboxes and on newsstands in…

Antitrust

News Release

SEC Drops the Ball on Sarbanes-Oxley

Contact: Richard Morrison, 202.331.2273 Washington, D.C., December 13, 2006—The Competitive Enterprise Institute today criticized the Securities and Exchange Commission for failing to provide meaningful…

Antitrust

Op-Eds

Freedom Fighter

The war to advance economic liberty will last forever. The effort is frustrating and often discouraging. Many freedom fighters burn out, retire from the field,…

Antitrust

Op-Eds

Friedman’s Legacy

Though I never met him, Milton Friedman, who has died aged 94, was one of the earliest influences on my political development. In…

Antitrust

Op-Eds

Junk Cinema

Fast Food Nation kicks off with a suit-clad fast food chain boss telling one of his executives to investigate a meat packing plant rumored to…

Antitrust

Op-Eds

The Unboring Pundit

<?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = “urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office” />   John Tierney's Tuesday column began innocently enough. He…

Antitrust

Op-Eds

Petronoia

As the price of oil and gas rose to 1970s oil crisis levels over the past year, pundits flew out of the woodwork…

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

Alex Reinauer

Research Fellow

  • Antitrust
  • Innovation
  • Tech and Telecom