U.S. politicos fire at EU's Microsoft ruling

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Antitrust Laws

Actually, US antitrust law is centered primarily around the consumer. If it benefits the consumer, a monopoly may be allowed, even if competition is harmed.

European antitrust law is centered around the competition; if competition is harmed, a monopoly is in trouble, regardless of the effect on the consumer.

So, in looking solely at the legal structure of things, he is right. However, since competition generally benefits the consumer, you are right.

It's nice when everyone is right, isn't it?

As to the reasons, well, that's another matter entirely. "Protecting consumers" is most likely not the ONLY goal here; in fact, in may only be a side benefit to the players involved (it gives them a very plausible reason to do what they do, but they may not really care about it at all).

Money, power, influence, career ambitions, personality clashes, international politics -- they all play major roles in any case such as this. Very little in this world is done for altruistic reasons, and while it is nice to think that governments are only looking out for the best interests of their people, don't forget that those same governments are made up OF people. And people are fundamentally selfish, so there's always a lot more going on. The general public may see some benefit, but the immediate players will see a lot more.

Posted by: pschroeder@...   Posted on: 03/25/04 You are currently: a Guest | Members login | Terms of Use

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