Event Video: Antitrust Populism and the Rule of Law

Virtual Panel Discussion:

Antitrust Populism and the Rule of Law

Our panel last month discussed Robert Bork’s consumer welfare standard, which has heavily influenced the evolution of antitrust analysis and enforcement over the past 42 years, and how Bork’s paradigm is under attack. Many defenders of the rule of law are concerned with the populist notion that competition law should be weaponized and used as a tool to address broader socio-economic concerns. Furthermore, adopting populist proposals that seek to rewrite antitrust law would upend more than a century of legal and economic learning and progress. This week, we will dive deeper into the recent populist antitrust movement and how the failure to distinguish between the proper and improper uses of antitrust laws poses a threat to the rule of law.

Featuring:

Richard A. Epstein

Laurence A. Tisch Professor of Law, NYU School of Law

Kristian Stout

Associate Director, International Center for Law & Economics

Mark Jamison

Director and Gunter Professor, Public Utility Research Center, University of Florida

Moderator:

Ashley Baker

Director of Public Policy, The Committee for Justice