1. a. Do you see increasing concentrations of wealth and power as threats to America’s long-term welfare? Explain.
b. If that concentration is a concern, is antitrust law the best remedy?
2. Does the Microsoft case stand simply for the view that bigness is bad? Explain.
3. Critics have argued that technology is eliminating the imperfections of the market, making antitrust law enforcement obsolete in this high-tech era.
a. Explain that argument.
b. Now build the argument that high-tech industries may actually be especially susceptible to antitrust problems because of the need to maintain equipment compatibility.
The Microsoft battle was about whether a giant bullied its rivals, but it was also about the very nature of capitalism—that is, the role of managerial ethics, the market, and government in American life. The case obliges us to think about what we want America to be and what role the law should play in securing that ideal. Most crucially, we should ask our-selves whether the market and ethics are sufficient to preserve genuine democracy and social justice, or whether we must employ antitrust law to attack those great concentrations of power that sometimes threaten our core values.