WBUR - More than money: Defining American antitrust law, from Bork to Khan

Executive director Barry Lynn was featured on WBUR’s On Point radio program discussing his mentorship of FTC Chair Lina Khan as well as the history and evolution of antitrust thought in the United States, with particular focus on the ill-conceived consumer welfare standard propagated by Robert Bork.

In 1978, distinguished legal scholar Robert Bork wrote a book called The Antitrust Paradox.

Bork argued that economic efficiency and "consumer welfare" should be the unique goals of American antitrust law.

The book was hugely influential, and a decisive change from the trust-busting progressive era.

It also became the de facto standard for federal antitrust regulation for the next 40 years.

Now, FTC chair Lina Khan says Bork's consumer welfare standard is too narrow. She wants regulators to ask whether monopolies hurt the welfare of democracies.

"I think there is an opportunity to really change and learn from the mistakes of the past," Khan said on the Sway podcast.

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