The Immorality of Antitrust Law
by D. T. Armentano
"Over 100 years of experience with antitrust regulation confirms Adam Smith’s
prediction that the laws are inherently abusive of liberty and justice. When our
legislators gain the moral courage to repeal the vast antitrust apparatus, both
economic performance and individual liberty will be expanded greatly."
Total Repeal of Anti-trust Legislation: A Critique of Bork, Brozen and Posner
by Walter Block
Cartels, Monopolies, and Liberalism
by Ludwig von Mises
"The objection commonly raised against liberalism that the conditions of competition
as they existed at the time when classical economics and liberal ideas were first
developed no longer prevail is in no way justified. Only a few liberal demands
(viz., free trade within and between nations) need to be realized in order to
re-establish these conditions."
Monopoly and Competition
by Murray N. Rothbard
Chapter 10 of
Voluntary and Coercive Cartels: The Case of Oil
November 1987
by David Osterfeld
"Coercive cartels distort the market, resulting in serious inefficiencies which harm
consumers. Voluntary cartels, on the other hand, enhance market efficiency and therefore
benefit consumers. An examination of the various monopoly and cartel arrangements in the
oil industry will highlight these distinctions."
Socialism: An Economic and Sociological Analysis
1922
by Ludwig von Mises
"This is a newly annotated edition of the classic first published in German in 1922. It
is the definitive refutation of nearly every type of socialism ever devised. Mises
presents a wide-ranging analysis of society, comparing the results of socialist planning
with those of free-market capitalism in all areas of life."
The State
1985
by Anthony de Jasay
"The State is a brilliant analysis of modern political arrangements that views the
state as acting in its own interest contrary to the interests of individuals and even of
an entire society."
The State
1919
by Franz Oppenheimer
"A pioneering historical analysis of the state from a sociological perspective which
focuses on the changing nature of political power and the groups who wielded this power.
One of his key insights is the distinction between the economic and the political means
of acquiring wealth."
Government and Microsoft: A Libertarian View of Monopolies
by Francois-Rene Rideau
"We explain how the original evil behind Microsoft's monopoly is government intervention
in the form of intellectual property privileges, and how any solution should begin by
ending these privileges."
Labor Relations
by Dr. Mary Ruwart
The good doctor answers the question, "Would a free market produce the bad
conditions commonly associated with the Industrial Revolution, such as low wages
and monopolies?"
Law as a Private Good: A Response to Tyler Cowen on the Economics of Anarchy
by David Friedman
"We must ask, not whether an anarcho-capitalist society would be safe from a power
grab by the men with the guns (safety is not an available option), but whether it would
be safer than our society is from a comparable seizure of power by the men with the guns.
I think the answer is yes. In our society, the men who must engineer such a coup are
politicians, military officers, and policemen, men selected precisely for the
characteristic of desiring power and being good at using it. They are men who already
believe that they have a right to push other men around--that is their job. They are
particularly well qualified for the job of seizing power. Under anarcho-capitalism the
men in control of protection agencies are selected for their ability to run an efficient
business and please their customers."
Monopolies
by Dr. Mary Ruwart
The good doctor answers tough questions about monopolies in a free society.
The Monopoly Nonproblem: Taking Price Discrimination Seriously
by Stephen Shmanske
"The standard economic theory of monopoly assumes, unrealistically, that all units of
a good or service must be sold at the same price. The remedy for this serious flaw in
the theory is for economists to treat price discrimination much more centrally and
seriously."
Networks, Anarcho-Capitalism, and the Paradox of Cooperation
by Bryan Caplan and Edward Stringham
This paper provides reasons to believe that a cartel of free-market defense firms
would not be likely to form or undermine an anarcho-capitalist society.
New Anti-Merger Theories
December 2, 1999
by Edward J. Lopez
"This paper discusses two recent innovations in federal antitrust enforcement of
mergers - 'unilateral effects' and 'innovation markets.' These instruments of merger
analysis, despite increasing usage by federal regulators, are inconsistent with modern
economic theory, and lead to erroneous and overly restrictive enjoinments of potential
mergers. Antitrust regulators should avoid using these and similar instruments in future
merger evaluations."
Open Letter on Antitrust Protectionism
June 2, 1999
by David J. Theroux
"Concerned about a growing number of antitrust cases instigated by rival business
firms, 240 distinguished economists signed an open letter that called for an end to
speculative antitrust enforcement efforts."
The Political Economy of Liberal Corporatism
by Joseph R. Stromberg
"Since the Austrian economists have demonstrated that monopoly is impossible in a free
market, the cartellized and monopolistic character of broad sectors of our economy can
only be explained on the ground of large-scale State intervention, intervention demanded
by and benefiting powerful Big Business interests. This explanation, happily enough, is
well documented and has been set forth in the historical writings of a group of New Left
radical revisionists, including Gabriel Kolko, William Appleman Williams, James Weinstein,
Lloyd C. Gardner, Martin Sklar, Ronald Radosh, and David Eakins, none of whom can be
accused of great partiality towards Austrian economic theory."
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This page was last updated on April 3, 2009.