Chapter Objectives

All societies face the problem of deciding how much power should be held by leading enterprises. In the United States, antitrust laws have long been used to curb corporate power, to preserve competition, and to protect consumers. The rapid advance of technology and the globalization of the economy, however, have raised new issues concerning business competitiveness. These trends have presented public policymakers and corporate leaders with a need to reconcile corporate power, stakeholder interests, and social responsibility with new realities.

This chapter focuses on these key questions and objectives:

2 What are the objectives of the antitrust laws, and how are they enforced?

3 What are the key issues in contemporary antitrust policy?

4 What are the reasons for the recent wave of mergers and acquisitions? How have they affected the relationship between business and its stakeholders?

5 How has the rise of new technologies and global competition affected antitrust policy?