The entire structure of antitrust statues in this country is a jumble of economic irrationality and ignorance. It is the product of : (A) a gross interpretation of history, and (B) rather naive, and certainly unrealistic economic theories.
At last resort, some people argue that at least the antitrust laws haven’t done any harm. They assert that even though the competitive process itself inhibits coercive monopolies, there is no harm in making doubly sure by declaring certain economic action to be illegal.
But the very existence of those undefinable stautes and contradictory case law inhibits businessmen from undertaking what would otherwise be sound productive measures. No one will ever know what new products, processes, machines and cost saving mergers failed to come into existence, killed by the Sherman Act before they were born. No one can ever compute the price that all of us have paid for that Act which, by inducing less effective use of capital, has kept our standard of living lower than would otherwise have been possible.
Based on a paper by Alan Greenspan given at the Antitrust Seminar of the National Association of Business Economists in leveland, September 25th, 1961