Why Does Competition Law Exist? Eleanor Fox on Consumer Welfare, Inequality, and Democracy

In this episode of Antitrust Atlas, Ambar Dar and co-host Maciej Bernatt sit down with Eleanor Fox, Walter J. Derenberg Professor Emerita of Trade Regulation at NYU School of Law, and one of the most influential voices in competition law of the past half-century. Eleanor reflects on how antitrust happened to her as a young lawyer in 1961, at a time when most firms would not hire women, and how she came to see competition law as a project about political economy, opportunity, and power rather than technical efficiency. She explains why she rejects the idea that there is any single consumer welfare standard, why inclusiveness is a market value while inequality is not and where US law has gone wrong (Ohio v. American Express, resale price maintenance). The conversation then turns to competition law under pressure: authoritarian and nationalist politics, the push for "national champions," the capture of competition agencies, and the Supreme Court's decision in Trump v. Slaughter and what it means for the independence of the FTC. Eleanor also discusses the dangers of legal transplants, what older regimes could, but probably won't, learn from South Africa and the Global South, and the hidden premises buried inside the economics of efficiency. She closes with a personal story about the fight over lawyer advertising in the 1970s, and advice for students and early-career competition lawyers. 🔗 Read the companion essay, transcript and resource guide here: https://amberdarr.substack.com/p/what... #antitrust #competitionlaw #EleanorFox #FTC #podcast #lawandeconomics #competitionpolicy Chapters below: 0:00 Welcome to Antitrust Atlas 0:41 How antitrust "happened to me": starting out in 1961 2:47 First woman partner at Simpson Thacher, and antitrust as political economy 3:42 1980: Reagan, Bill Baxter, and turning antitrust upside down 5:57 A human-centred vision of competition 6:56 Inclusiveness as a market value, and why inequality is different 10:36 There is no such thing as "the consumer welfare standard" 12:27 Neoliberals, progressives, and competing premises about market power 14:14 Why fairness sits outside the paradigm 15:32 Non-market values: poverty, sustainability, public interest 18:01 Ohio v. American Express: who wins and who loses 21:27 Resale price maintenance and the cost of eliminating discounts 22:05 South Africa, sustainability, and the risk of unpredictability 24:30 Authoritarianism and the trade and competition ecosystem 27:45 National champions, macro goals, and the EU draft merger guidelines 31:05 Can competition authorities be captured? 31:43 Trump v. Slaughter and the Federal Trade Commission 34:08 The unitary executive theory and the end of agency independence 36:11 What comes next for the FTC? 36:42 The danger of legal transplants 39:22 What newer jurisdictions actually need 40:26 Can older regimes learn from the Global South? 42:15 Learning economics late, and the hidden premises of efficiency 45:05 OECD, ICN and the tension in "best practices" 48:04 Redesigning competition law for the 21st century 49:47 Goals versus premises: where the real disagreement lies 51:03 The fight over lawyer advertising: a personal story 54:08 Advice for students and early-career competition lawyers 56:37 Closing thanks