I. OVERVIEW
A. Antitrust Policy
The basic objective of the antitrust laws is to eliminate
practices that interfere with free competition. They are designed
to promote a vigorous and competitive economy in which each
business has a full opportunity to compete on the basis of price,
quality, and service.
"The Sherman Act was designed to be a comprehensive charter
of economic liberty aimed at preserving free and unfettered
competition as the rule of trade. It rests on the premise that the
unrestrained interaction of competitive forces will yield the best
allocation of our economic resources, the lowest prices, the
highest quality and the greatest material progress, while at the
same time providing an environment conducive to the preservation of
our democratic political and social institutions. But even were
that premise open to question, the policy unequivocally laid down
by the Act is competition." Northern Pacific Railway v. United
States, 356 U.S. 1, 4-5 (1958).
