Reflection on the Nature of Competition Law

As soon as one understands competition as a discovery process rather than as a peculiar equilibrium of market forces, it becomes hard to lend unqualified endorsement to competition law

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. Whoever adheres to a dynamic view of markets will indeed tend to consider those who claim to prevent or sanction market behaviors that allegedly “reduce the well-being of society at large” as overly ambitious. We shall consider below the reasons for passing such a judgment, keeping in mind that, as we all know, to highlight the drawbacks of an institution does not provide sufficient justificatory grounds for its abolition. Indeed, whoever wishes to question the desirability of competition law without falling in what Harold Demsetz dubbed the Nirvana, must be able to show that the world would be a better place without competition law; an admittedly much more arduous task.