--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Why should antitrust laws be used to…" description: "\"Why should antitrust laws be used to block mergers that the market, by the existence of willing buyers and sellers, shows to be desirable?\" — Henry Manne" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3ce/henry-manne-109294_antitrust_why-should-antitrust-laws-be-used-to-blo_1642679.png" --- # Why should antitrust laws be used to block mergers that… ![“Why should antitrust laws be used to block mergers that the market, by the existence of willing buyers and sellers, shows to be desirable?” quote by Henry Manne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3ce/henry-manne-109294_antitrust_why-should-antitrust-laws-be-used-to-blo_1642679.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3ce/henry-manne-109294_antitrust_why-should-antitrust-laws-be-used-to-blo_1642679.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3ce/henry-manne-109294_antitrust_why-should-antitrust-laws-be-used-to-blo_1642679.png) > “Why should antitrust laws be used to block mergers that the market, by the existence of willing buyers and sellers, shows to be desirable?” [Henry Manne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-manne/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Antitrust should block mergers only when they harm competition, not when buyers and sellers benefit. **In simple terms:** Block mergers that reduce competition. Key Takeaway Evaluate market impact before blocking. Themes economics law competition policy Mood analytical critical Type academic policy When to use this quote - regulatory review - legal scholarship - policy debate Key Concepts antitrust mergers market analysis consumer welfare Questions to Reflect On - How do you measure market desirability? - When should antitrust intervene? A Different Perspective Complex markets may not fit simple buyer‑seller models. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Antitrust](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/antitrust/) [Antitrust laws](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/antitrust-laws/) [Block](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/block/) [Block Mergers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/block-mergers-581648/) [Buyers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/buyers/) [Competition](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/competition/) [Desirable](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/desirable/) [Existence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/existence/) [Investing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/investing/) [Law](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/law/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Mergers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mergers/) [Mergers Market](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mergers-market-581649/) [Sellers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sellers/) [Should](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/should/) [Shows](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/shows/) [Used](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/used/) [Willing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/willing/) [Willing Buyers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/willing-buyers-581650/) ## Related quotes > [Antitrust law isn't about protecting competing businesses from each other, it's about protecting competition itself on behalf of the public.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/al-franken/antitrust-law-isn-t-about-protecting-competing-businesses-from-each/) [Al Franken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/al-franken/) > [We need to use antitrust laws. You know, we need to create real media again.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jill-stein/we-need-to-use-antitrust-laws-you-know-we-need-to-create-real-media/) [Jill Stein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jill-stein/) > [The 10 largest antitrust law firms in the United States have gone into the federal courts charging Monsanto with creating a global conspiracy in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeremy-rifkin/the-10-largest-antitrust-law-firms-in-the-united-states-have-gone/) [Jeremy Rifkin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeremy-rifkin/) > [Under the antitrust laws, a man becomes a criminal from the moment he goes into business, no matter what he does. If he complies…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayn-rand/under-the-antitrust-laws-a-man-becomes-a-criminal-from-the-moment-he/) [Ayn Rand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayn-rand/) > [When Congress passed U.S. antitrust laws, lawmakers made them flexible precisely because they knew that they could not predict the constantly new and evolving…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lina-khan/when-congress-passed-u-s-antitrust-laws-lawmakers-made-them-flexible/) [Lina Khan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lina-khan/) > [So, the antitrust laws in the United States don't create some kind of cap on a company's size or on growth; they really distinguish…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lina-khan/so-the-antitrust-laws-in-the-united-states-don-t-create-some-kind-of/) [Lina Khan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lina-khan/) > [As freak legislation, the antitrust laws stand alone. Nobody knows what it is they forbid.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isabel-paterson/as-freak-legislation-the-antitrust-laws-stand-alone-nobody-knows-what/) [Isabel Paterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isabel-paterson/) > [It's time to use the antitrust laws and to break up this conglomerate corporate media that has now poisoned our democracy to the point…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jill-stein/it-s-time-to-use-the-antitrust-laws-and-to-break-up-this-conglomerate/) [Jill Stein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jill-stein/) > [Antitrust laws ought to be deployed, not against business, but to bust this two-party monopoly, which subverts competition in government and rewards the colluding…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ilana-mercer/antitrust-laws-ought-to-be-deployed-not-against-business-but-to-bust/) [Ilana Mercer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ilana-mercer/) > [Most Americans don't think about antitrust law when they look at their cable bill, flip channels on TV, or worry about what their favorite…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/al-franken/most-americans-don-t-think-about-antitrust-law-when-they-look-at/) [Al Franken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/al-franken/) > [There are probably deal-makers out there who wish we didn't have the antitrust laws.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lina-khan/there-are-probably-deal-makers-out-there-who-wish-we-didn-t-have-the/) [Lina Khan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lina-khan/) > [Laws reflect values. Antitrust laws used to reflect one set of values, and then there was a change in values that led us to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lina-khan/laws-reflect-values-antitrust-laws-used-to-reflect-one-set-of-values/) [Lina Khan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lina-khan/) > [To go all the way back, lawmakers passed the antitrust laws because they wanted to favor competition over consolidation, the basic idea being that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lina-khan/to-go-all-the-way-back-lawmakers-passed-the-antitrust-laws-because/) [Lina Khan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lina-khan/) > [If we want a healthier, more diverse market - and more variety in our Halloween buckets - we could start by reviving some of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lina-khan/if-we-want-a-healthier-more-diverse-market-and-more-variety-in-our/) [Lina Khan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lina-khan/) > [A significant piece of the wealth that the NFL owners garner is a result of the enormous TV revenues they get - and those…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eliot-spitzer/a-significant-piece-of-the-wealth-that-the-nfl-owners-garner-is-a/) [Eliot Spitzer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eliot-spitzer/) ## More by Henry Manne > [“Unfortunately, the truth is that in universities the world over, the tremendous analytical power and insights of market economics are unappreciated. For whatever political…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-manne/unfortunately-the-truth-is-that-in-universities-the-world-over-the/) [Henry Manne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-manne/) [Explore all 2 Henry Manne quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-manne/) ## More Antitrust quotes > [Antitrust law isn't about protecting competing businesses from each other, it's about protecting competition itself on behalf of the public.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/al-franken/antitrust-law-isn-t-about-protecting-competing-businesses-from-each/) [Al Franken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/al-franken/) > [Antitrust is really about making sure that companies are succeeding by competing on the merits.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lina-khan/antitrust-is-really-about-making-sure-that-companies-are-succeeding/) [Lina Khan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lina-khan/) > [This antitrust thing will blow over.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-gates/this-antitrust-thing-will-blow-over/) [Bill Gates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-gates/) > [There's no doubt we need stronger antitrust enforcement. We shouldn't allow Amazon to privilege its own products on its platform, and we should make…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ro-khanna/there-s-no-doubt-we-need-stronger-antitrust-enforcement-we-shouldn-t/) [Ro Khanna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ro-khanna/) > [When I applied to law school, I wrote on my application that I wanted to do two things. One was to solve antitrust law's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-lubetzky/when-i-applied-to-law-school-i-wrote-on-my-application-that-i-wanted/) [Daniel Lubetzky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-lubetzky/) > [If we want a healthier, more diverse market - and more variety in our Halloween buckets - we could start by reviving some of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lina-khan/if-we-want-a-healthier-more-diverse-market-and-more-variety-in-our/) [Lina Khan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lina-khan/) > [A competitive threat is not the same thing as an antitrust violation… It is difficult to make out FairSearch’s precise antitrust arguments. There are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-gallagher/a-competitive-threat-is-not-the-same-thing-as-an-antitrust-violation/) [Peter Gallagher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-gallagher/) > [ Like IBM, the company \[Microsoft\] seems to have been spooked by the federal antitrust action against it and became increasingly sclerotic and less inventive. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-manes/like-ibm-the-company-microsoft-seems-to-have-been-spooked-by-the/) [Stephen Manes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-manes/) > [You can take this as a gentle word of warning, if you like. We are just at the beginning of a period of more…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neelie-kroes/you-can-take-this-as-a-gentle-word-of-warning-if-you-like-we-are-just/) [Neelie Kroes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neelie-kroes/) > [We can speculate on what's likely, but what's needed is an investigation. And speculation is no substitute for facts. As a former prosecutor, I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-blumenthal/we-can-speculate-on-what-s-likely-but-what-s-needed-is-an/) [Richard Blumenthal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-blumenthal/) > [The federal government has shown little willingness to stand up to corporate monopolies, and use its powers under the existing antitrust statutes, including the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zephyr-teachout/the-federal-government-has-shown-little-willingness-to-stand-up-to/) [Zephyr Teachout](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zephyr-teachout/) > [To go all the way back, lawmakers passed the antitrust laws because they wanted to favor competition over consolidation, the basic idea being that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lina-khan/to-go-all-the-way-back-lawmakers-passed-the-antitrust-laws-because/) [Lina Khan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lina-khan/) > [My current goal is to change the way we think about antitrust and anti-monopoly.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zephyr-teachout/my-current-goal-is-to-change-the-way-we-think-about-antitrust-and/) [Zephyr Teachout](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zephyr-teachout/) > [Beware of that profound enemy of the free enterprise system who pays lip-service to free competition, but also labels every antitrust prosecution as a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franklin-d-roosevelt/beware-of-that-profound-enemy-of-the-free-enterprise-system-who-pays/) [Franklin D. Roosevelt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franklin-d-roosevelt/) > [The testimony and the documentary evidence produced by the Government demonstrate that the Bell System had violated the antitrust laws in a number of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harold-h-greene/the-testimony-and-the-documentary-evidence-produced-by-the-government/) [Harold H. Greene](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harold-h-greene/) [Browse all 56 Antitrust quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/antitrust/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Why should antitrust laws be used to block mergers that the market, by the existence of willing buyers and sellers, shows to be desirable?", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Henry Manne" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-manne/why-should-antitrust-laws-be-used-to-block-mergers-that-the-market-by/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Antitrust" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-manne/why-should-antitrust-laws-be-used-to-block-mergers-that-the-market-by/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3ce/henry-manne-109294_antitrust_why-should-antitrust-laws-be-used-to-blo_1642679.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3ce/henry-manne-109294_antitrust_why-should-antitrust-laws-be-used-to-blo_1642679.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3ce/henry-manne-109294_antitrust_why-should-antitrust-laws-be-used-to-blo_1642679.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Why should antitrust laws be used to block mergers that the market, by the existence of willing buyers and…” — Henry Manne", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Henry Manne", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-manne/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Why should antitrust laws be used...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-manne/why-should-antitrust-laws-be-used-to-block-mergers-that-the-market-by/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-manne/why-should-antitrust-laws-be-used-to-block-mergers-that-the-market-by/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```