"Mercantilism, Corporations, and Liberty: The Fallacies of ‘Lochnerian’ Antitrust," by James Rolph Edwards (Libertarian Papers)

Just published: Libertarian Papers, Vol. 1 (2009), Art. No. 30: “Mercantilism, Corporations, and Liberty: The Fallacies of ‘Lochnerian’ Antitrust,” by James Rolph Edwards

Abstract: Progressive legal theorist Daniel Crane has argued that libertarians who believe that monopoly results from government intervention should accept antitrust law because the monopoly problem is a result of state government passage of General Incorporation Acts after the Civil War. The resulting corporate consolidation and control of industry necessitated federal antitrust law as a corrective. Crane has all of this wrong. State permission for incorporation was an ancient tool of mercantile grants of monopoly still in practice by state legislatures in the early 19th century, and the General Incorporation Acts were a major expression of a successful Jacksonian antimonopoly policy.

Click here to read the entire article…

Technorati Tags: 19th Century, Ancient Tool, art, Civil War, Corporate Consolidation, Corporations, Daniel Crane, Edwards, Fallacies, federal antitrust law, Government Acts, Government Intervention, Incorporation, James Rolph Edwards, Legal Theorist, Libertarians, Mercantilism, monopoly, Rolph, State, State Government, State Legislatures, Vol 1

Related posts:

1. "Areopagitica: Milton’s Influence on Classical and Modern Political and Economic Thought," by Isaac M. Morehouse (Libertarian Papers, Vol. 1 (2009), Art. no. 38)
2. Google Books Between the Copyright Rock and the Antitrust Hard Place
3. 32. "Gold, the Golden Rule, and Government: Civil Society and the End of the State," by D.G. White [Libertarian Papers]
4. Libertarian Papers: on libertarian dilemmas, and probability theory
5. Google Books Between the Copyright Rock and the Antitrust Hard Place

Tags: 19th Century, Ancient Tool, art, Civil War, Corporate Consolidation, Corporations, Daniel Crane, Edwards, Fallacies, federal antitrust law, Government Acts, Government Intervention, Incorporation, James Rolph Edwards, Legal Theorist, Libertarians, Mercantilism, monopoly, Rolph, State, State Government, State Legislatures, Vol 1

This entry was posted on Thursday, July 16th, 2009 at 10:52 pm and is filed under Austrian Economics. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.