MARINA DEL REY, CALIF.--When George W. Bush was asked about the Microsoft case during the presidential campaign, he said he favored "innovation, not litigation." With another round of Microsoft court battles looming, the president should urge Attorney General Ashcroft to drop the case and then they should campaign to abolish antitrust outright, said a senior writer for the Ayn Rand Institute.
"During the campaign, Bush implied--correctly--that Microsoft was being penalized for being innovative," said Richard M. Salsman. "Bush and Ashcroft now need to call for a re-evaluation of antitrust law, with the goal of restoring a company's right to be successful without the threat of government intervention. The Justice Department should immediately curtail its enforcement effort in this area. Congressional hearings should investigate the massive injustice and the enormous destruction of wealth caused by the antitrust laws. Ultimately, Congress should abolish antitrust laws altogether."
Salsman said that the Microsoft case symbolizes the essence of all antitrust cases: the government penalizes a large, successful company, not because it broke contracts, defrauded suppliers or bilked customers--but solely because it is large and successful.
"It is often alleged that antitrust law preserves free enterprise and competition, when in fact it destroys both," said Salsman. "The essence of capitalism is private property and voluntary exchange. There is no 'right to compete' if that means crippling one's superior competitor through government regulation; there is only the right to try to create a better product. Antitrust law amounts to the perverse proposition that a company loses the right to its property once it exhibits an ability to decisively win a competition. If President Bush and the Republican Party really care about political liberty, they should become the leaders in the fight to abolish antitrust and allow freedom to rule."
Ayn Rand Institute senior writer Richard M. Salsman is available for interviews.
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