By Eleanor M. Fox –
A notion of equality has run through antitrust (or competition) law since the beginning of (antitrust) time. This essay traces uses of the equality value in antitrust law since the enactment of the Sherman Act in 1890. It focuses particularly on equality of opportunity: keeping open pathways for outsiders to contest markets on the merits. The essay invokes data showing increasing inequality in societies around the world, and research that, challenging older “wisdom,” shows that more equality may be necessary to obtain more efficiency. Finally, the essay describes a new South African project to amend the Competition Act in hopes to make South Africa a more inclusive economy.
