Antitrust: a Heimlich manoeuvre

The Chicago Revolution has transformed antitrust into a highly complex, impenetrable if not impracticable area of law, all but extinguishing its traction with the public at large. Under the pretense of scientificity, furthermore, its efficiency-based mantra appears to be, under scrutiny, more a product of ideology than anything else. Not to mention a rather striking volte-face with respect to the political origin and the judicial history of US antitrust as it had developed till then: a path where the emphasis on rivalry was motivated also by the desire to protect the democratic process from the reach of big business. In the European framework, where antitrust derived more from US pressure than any internal political debate, while the European Commission has at times tried to embrace the new US-style approach, the Court of justice has maintained its emphasis on competition and rivalry per se, sometimes indirectly referring to ordoliberal ideas and concerns. In the meantime, however, antitrust has become a ...