The Abolition of Antitrust [Paperback]

Gary Hull (Editor)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 1412805023 | ISBN-13: 978-1412805025 | Publication Date: April 25, 2005

The Abolition of Antitrust asserts that antitrust laws-on economic, legal, and moral grounds-are bad, and provides convincing evidence supporting arguments for their total abolition. Every year, new antitrust prosecutions arise in the U.S. courts, as in the cases against 3M and Visa/MasterCard, as well as a number of ongoing antitrust cases, such as those involving Microsoft and college football's use of the Bowl Championship Series (BCS). Gary Hull and the contributing authors show that these cases-as well as the Sherman Antitrust Act itself-are based on an erroneous interpretation of the history of American business, premised on bad economics. They equivocate between economic and political power-the power to produce versus the power to use physical force. For Hull, antitrust prosecutions are based on a horrible moral inversion: that it is acceptable to sacrifi ce America's best producers. The contributors explain how key antitrust ideas, for instance, "monopoly," "restraint of trade," and "anticompetitive behavior," have been used to justify prosecution, and then make clear why those ideas are false. They sketch the historical, legal, economic, and moral reasoning that gave rise to the passage and growth of antitrust legislation. All of the theoretical points in this volume are woven around a number of fascinating cases, both historical and current-including the Charles River Bridge, Alcoa, General Electric, and Kellogg/General Mills. Designed for the uninformed but educated layman, The Abolition of Antitrust makes positive arguments in defense of wealth creation, business, and profi t, explains the proper role of government, and offers a rational view of the meaning of contract and economic freedom. AldineTransaction www.transactionpub.com ISBN: 978-1-4128-0502-5 Library of Congress: 2004058124 Printed in the U.S.A. Cover design by Ellen F. Kane "The essays in this book present a sustained economic, historical, moral, and legal broadside against the various federal statutes known as antitrust doctrine. They explode the cherished myths underlying the antitrust laws, and expose their intellectual fountainhead in a morality of self-sacrifice that is incompatible with individual rights, free enterprise, and objective law. With the publication of this text, businessmen, lawyers, economists, policymakers,legislators, and judges finally have access to a systemic critique of the antitrust laws. From here on, if antitrust continues to violate the rights of businessmen and to ravage the American economy, it is not for lack of knowing how and why."-Adam Mossoff, assistant professor of law, Michigan State University College of Law

Product Details

• Paperback: 176 pages
• Publisher: Transaction Publishers (April 25, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1412805023
• ISBN-13: 978-1412805025
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,122,785 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

32 of 39 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Something Everyone Should Read, July 14, 2005

By 

Jonathan Awesome - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Abolition of Antitrust (Hardcover)

Each essay in this book is very well structured and very enlightening; going into depth on issues that the best books on general economics that I've read only touch the surface of.

Tearing apart the flawed philosophical foundation of many of the prevailing erroneous economic theories that plague us today; this book exposes a great deal of falsehoods widely accepted as fact. Such as the myth of the "robber barons".


I strongly recommend it to anyone with an interest in economics, history, politics and/or philosophy.

16 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Abolish Antitrust Law: The complete case, October 3, 2005

By 

Gideon Reich (CA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Abolition of Antitrust (Hardcover)

The book consists of a series of essays covering the economic, historical, legal, and philosophical cases for the elimination of antitrust law. Particularly noteworthy, in my opinion, was the chapter by Richard M. Salsman entitled "The False Profits of Antitrust" in which he traces the attitude of economics and economists to profits, capitalists, and entrepreneurs over the last few centuries. According to Salsman the attitude is largely negative and profits (and thus capitalists) are expected ideally not to be there. This obscene view appears to still be the norm today. Editor Gary Hull's essay is also important in that it shows in the clearest terms that Antitrust laws punish successful businesses for their virtues (increased productivity and innovation) and are therefore profoundly unjust.

Also helpful were Eric Daniel's historical tracing of the concept of monopoly in England and America, Thomas Bowden's detailed and informative discussion of contract law and its relation to antitrust law. Harry Binswanger reviews issues familiar to Objectivists in terms of the "economic vs political power" -- only the second can constitute a violation of rights.

If you want to read the best case for the abolition of antitrust look no further.

13 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Why Your Government is Corrupt, October 30, 2005

By 

Russell W. Shurts (Centennial, CO United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Abolition of Antitrust (Paperback)

Just as a person cannot engage in immoral acts indefinitely without damaging his life, a government cannot continuously engage in immoral acts for over 100 years without becoming increasingly corrupt. If you want to understand why the men and women who run your government more resemble carnival hustlers than statesmen, read this book. In it Gary Hull and 6 other intellectuals ranging from economists to historians to philosophers examine and describe how the United States government starting in the 1880's changed from the protector of the individual rights of its citizens, it's only legitimate function, to the destroyer of those rights. For anyone interested in rational understanding Dr. Hull et al provide rock solid arguments for how and why Anti-Trust legislation came into being, why it was wrong to begin with, why it is so destructive and most importantly why it is so unjust.