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== Expanding the page == | |||
|action2date=17 August 2007 | |||
I'm creating a proper competition law page, which doesn't merely redirect to the Antitrust page, covering US law on the matter. It'll be far bigger, and better, and hopefully it'll be done properly before long. '''<font color="red">]</font><font color="gold">]</font>''' 09:27, 11 May 2007 (UTC) | |||
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:So, I've finished most of what I can manage for today. The detail in practice, and more work on the theory will follow when I go to the library and have a bit more time. But the sections all have something in them now of use and hopefully the changes are liked. '''<font color="red">]</font><font color="gold">]</font>''' 16:05, 12 May 2007 (UTC) | |||
}} | |||
{{archive box| | |||
== Article length == | |||
* ] (2007)}} | |||
This article is currently 55KB. ] recommends considering splitting up articles over 30 or 40KB. I recently read this article for the first time, and though it has lots of excellent information, my patience was definitely taxed by two-thirds of the way through. The length and reader experience I think are signs that it's too detailed for a brief overview. What can be done about it? The history section essentially includes both "Competition law history" and "Competition law today", and is long enough for an article on its own. I think these eight sections should be split off into an article on the "History of competition law" and a summary half the current length left in its place. The "Competition law theory" section is rather dry and technical. It could also be moved to a new article and summarized here in a paragraph or two. Splitting into subarticles will help make room for further expansion; I'm afraid this single page can't hold much more. -- ] 19:10, 30 June 2007 (UTC) | |||
==Introduction== | |||
:Yes but Beland, as an experienced administrator you should know that a huge number of featured articles do go beyond 40KB. If I removed all the photos I'd cut it down. It's simply a piece of guidance, which gives a suggestion as a warning for people who create pages that waffle. Think about this from the point of view from someone coming to the page who wants to learn about competition law - a student for instance. They'll want detail and they'll find it in this page. I'm really sorry your patience is taxed, but you can find a good summary in the intro, per WP:LEAD style, can't you. '''<font color="red">]</font><font color="gold">]</font>''' 23:35, 30 June 2007 (UTC) | |||
::It's not a matter of sheer number of wikitext characters, it's a matter of the amount of prose that readers have to wade through. (Which photos are actually rather good at breaking up.) I ''am'' a person that was coming to the page looking for information on the topic, and I found that this article didn't do a concise job of summarizing the topic. I'm all for having lots of detail in the encyclopedia for those that want it, but that's independent of page size. When articles get too big, they get split up into subarticles. Look at say, the ], which is a huge subject, but the main article is under 32KB, which is a nice single-sitting chunk. The lead is a one-paragraph summary of the topic, but the idea of the 30KB target length is to provide a one-page summary for those (like me) who want more detail than that. -- ] 02:13, 1 July 2007 (UTC) | |||
I'll ask for some outside opinions on this question, so we can get a more meaningful consensus. -- ] 02:28, 1 July 2007 (UTC) | |||
:For every article you can cite that's under, I can cite one that's way over. Take, e.g. ] which is 121 KB in size. It's also got a star which the ] doesn't. '''<font color="red">]</font><font color="gold">]</font>''' 19:30, 1 July 2007 (UTC) | |||
::Well, I don't entirely agree that ] is an appropriate length, and there have been complaints about the length on the talk page there as well. But that subject also has a lot more material to cover than this one. It's certainly a judgement call, which is why I have asked for additional opinions. -- ] 20:16, 1 July 2007 (UTC) | |||
:::Once again, I'd like to see you contributing something rather than just criticising. When I say contribute, I mean the act involved in picking up a book, reading it, and writing something about that which is inside. '''<font color="red">]</font><font color="gold">]</font>''' 11:52, 2 July 2007 (UTC) | |||
Which sources have been used for it? ] ] 14:34, 8 December 2007 (UTC) | |||
== Neo-liberal reference requested == | |||
:Somewhere, lost in the ideological battles above, someone deleted the references I'd written in! If you look back in the histories you'll find them. But it appeared that one person in particular didn't like it! Please do put'm back in. ''']]''' 13:31, 11 December 2007 (UTC) | |||
I requested citations for the claims that neo-liberals were once considered cranks, and that they are now an influential or dominant school of thought. ] removed my request for a citation and commented on my talk page: | |||
== Post war consensus and European Union law references == | |||
:''as for the facts needed post, I'm removing that too because the discussion goes on to substantiate what I've said. If you have a read of some of their material at a library, then you see it all there.'' | |||
Can anybody show me references for these sections? Linking to main article just is not enough, one needs to supply refs localy.--] (]) 22:58, 23 July 2008 (UTC) | |||
The later discussion does not substantiate these claims, it merely covers the ideas of neo-liberals in more detail. It is not sufficient to say that one would find that the claims are substantiated if one visits a library; ] requires that specific sources be cited, or the material be removed. Moreover, it is not these authors themselves who determine whether they are cranks or influential, and they are not reliable sources for this information. Reliable third-party sources are needed to support these claims. -- ] 19:23, 30 June 2007 (UTC) | |||
:Yes, and I stand by that lovely excerpt that you've now deleted from your user page. I don't have the book to hand, it's by Frank Stilwell and is called Political Economy. Of course the neo liberals were considered cranks! It only changed when Thatcher and Reagan came to power in the late seventies and early eighties, when the things these economists had been advocating were put into practice. Change the sentence if you're really dying to. It's a little sad to cling a fact citation template in one sentence in a page as big as this. Anyway, I'd like to see you contributing a little more and criticising a little less. '''<font color="red">]</font><font color="gold">]</font>''' 00:14, 1 July 2007 (UTC) | |||
::Well, I'd like to think that fact-checking ''is'' an important contribution. "Cranks" in particular is a strong word that carries a strong value judgement, and so properly documenting it is particularly important. If this attitude toward neo-liberalism was so notable, why isn't it mentioned on ]? I'll add in the citation needed tag. It's nothing to be ashamed of, but if it bothers you, feel free to resolve it by citing a reliable source. -- ] 02:25, 1 July 2007 (UTC) | |||
== Section names == | |||
I suggest simplifying the main section names - removing "Competition law" from them.--] (]) 22:59, 23 July 2008 (UTC) | |||
:That seems to match the ], "Avoid restating or directly referring to the topic or to wording on a higher level in the hierarchy". ] (]) 23:06, 23 July 2008 (UTC) | |||
== Bork phrasing == | |||
== Citing material == | |||
I restored a previous edit of mine rephrasing part the discussion of Bork's views. The old phrasing was simply difficult to parse, and I had to read it several times to make sense of it. The new phrasing is an attempt to say the same thing using a sentence structure which is easier to grasp on first reading. Most of the problem with the previous phrasing was the use of a double negative: "nothing beyond X should be prohibited". Expressing this using a single negative - "only X should be prohibited" is simpler and clearer. -- ] 19:29, 30 June 2007 (UTC) | |||
:Sorry about that. '''<font color="red">]</font><font color="gold">]</font>''' 23:39, 30 June 2007 (UTC) | |||
] keeps adding tags on two sections saying there aren't references. I referred him to WP:CITE, and pointed out there are loads of references (i.e. the links to the specific statutes and articles of the EC Treaty), that the whole thing is in summary style anyway, but I'm not sure he's going to listen. Would anyone like to comment on what they feel is lacking? And then would they like to do it themselves? As it stands I think that just moaning is singularly unproductive. ''']]''' 19:28, 27 July 2008 (UTC) | |||
== ICN link == | |||
== Neutrality check == | |||
The mention of the ] is about twice as long in this article as it needs to be. There's no need to mention the web site of the organization here because it's linked from the article. Also, such references belong in the "External links" section, they shouldn't be pointed out explicitly in the main text of the article. -- ] 19:38, 30 June 2007 (UTC) | |||
:I honestly can't understand what's wrong with putting in the ICN's website. If you can fish out a copy of Richard Whish's Competition Law (2003) he has a whole chapter section on it - pp.448-9. Of course external links can go in footnotes, and so what if there's another page for it. Don't delete it again. '''<font color="red">]</font><font color="gold">]</font>''' 23:38, 30 June 2007 (UTC) | |||
::If you just wanted to put a footnote on the organization's name that contained a pointer to the website, that would be better though still redundant, considering the name is a link to a whole Misplaced Pages article about the organization. But devoting a whole sentence to the existence of the web site is adding unnecessary length to an already overly long article. It also over-emphasizes the web site, which is why it came across to me as self-promotional. The article text is supposed to be stating facts; pointers to outside sources for additional information go in footnotes or the external links section. If you look at other places where organizations are named, like ], you won't see any external links, just internal ones. -- ] 02:02, 1 July 2007 (UTC) | |||
From my reading of few sections of the article there seems to be some POV problems. For one article seems to be written from perspective that more regulation is better. For example, in section Post war development it is stated that "Commonwealth countries were slow in enacting statutory competition law provisions." Why "slow", why not "reluctant" or something else? Also, there seems to be a lack of criticism for concept of "competition law" in general and it seems to lack any criticism of its application in practice. I'm pretty sure there were many examples where competition laws were used to stifle completion instead of supporting it, and examples of market dominant firms that simply lost its place in the market without any government intervention. In short, my impression is that this article was written from viewpoint of eager anti-trust lawmakers while viewpoint of business is neglected. ] ] 19:10, 31 July 2008 (UTC) | |||
== NPOV == | |||
:You're welcome to change the word to "reluctant". I think that the theory section offers people's criticisms already: it's bad Misplaced Pages policy to have "criticism" sections if that's what you mean. Which viewpoints of business did you have in mind? ''']]''' 23:47, 31 July 2008 (UTC) | |||
From the subsection title ("Neo-liberal radicalism") to the text that refuses to take Bork or Posner seriously, misrepresents their views, and smears them as "cranks", this section is appallingly violative of NPOV requirements. -- ] 03:04, 1 July 2007 (UTC) | |||
:Cheers for you insight Ted, and glad to have such a notable professional in the field having a read. I've removed the appalling smear. '''<font color="red">]</font><font color="gold">]</font>''' 19:26, 1 July 2007 (UTC) | |||
::I did a brief search and in my opinion we should include more material like this: | |||
The Supreme Court started adopting Bork's competition-law views in 1977 in <i>GTE Sylvania</i> before Thatcher or Reagan came to power. The section presents a caricature of Posner's views and Bork's views. And in fifteen years in this area, I've never once seen anyone refer to it as "neoliberal radicalism" . ] 19:39, 1 July 2007 (UTC) | |||
:Groan. Will you please not add that neutrality tag again? I can't really do much unless you suggest something. I would have thought Bork might have happily seen himself as a radical. Does he still work with you Ted? Maybe you can ask him? Is he your boss? And so far as neo-liberal goes, to my mind that's a pretty normal way of describing economists who reacted to the post war consensus, like Friedman. Would you prefer "neo-conservative"? Make a constructive suggestion or two, please, otherwise I'd appreciate it if you stopped complaining. '''<font color="red">]</font><font color="gold">]</font>''' 16:03, 3 July 2007 (UTC) | |||
::Why are you making this personal? My problems are (1) the inaccurate and POV-pushing "radicalism" characterization that exist only on Misplaced Pages; (2) the mischaracterization of Bork's views; (3) the mischaracterization of Posner's views; (4) the failure to recognize that the Chicago School reflects mainstream legal thought in the United States endorsed by all nine of the current Supreme Court justices; (5) the failure to mention Aaron Director; and (6) various personal opinions stated in the section in violation of NPOV and NOR. The neutrality tag stays until the neutrality violations are fixed. The entire section needs to be rewritten, preferably with reliance on reliable sources instead of an editor's idiosyncratic characterizations. ] 17:49, 3 July 2007 (UTC) | |||
:::I said "constructive". And when you edit, can you make sure you aren't messing up the heading and punctuation? You haven't told me why the direct quotations are mischaracterisations. As for personalisation, if you want to deal in words like appalling smears, then you can at least expect some ironic horseplay in return. Do you mean that Bork isn't your boss? The neutrality tag goes, mate, and instead of being boring, fish out a book, look something up and write about it. '''<font color="red">]</font><font color="gold">]</font>''' 22:24, 3 July 2007 (UTC) | |||
::::Again, I listed six separate violations of NPOV in the section and made constructive suggestions. You haven't defended any of problems, you've just played edit-war. Fix the NPOV problem and you won't have an NPOV tag. ] 22:48, 3 July 2007 (UTC) | |||
:::::You've said zero that is specific. There is barely a sentence that is not direct quotation or direct reference. Unless you tell me which direct quotation or which direct reference is not to your pleasure, there is nothing I can do . | |||
:::::You did not respond yourself to my suggestions for another title. You have not suggested alternatives yourself . The first sentence which I've already deleted said that Chicago school economics had come to the point of dominance and you wanted it deleted . If you want someone new added, then do the opposite of your current cynical approach, get out a book, and write . You continue to contribute nothing, even your criticisms with vague references "various opinions" contribute nothing . You can still redeem yourself, but you are beginning to look a bit hopeless, and as I said before, boring. '''<font color="red">]</font><font color="gold">]</font>''' 07:36, 4 July 2007 (UTC) | |||
::::::Your persistent personal attacks, obnoxious talk-page edit summaries, and lack of civility are not productive. Perhaps you have comments on the edits I had to waste time making because your response to NPOV problems was to delete the tag and pretend they weren't there instead of fixing them? -- ] 07:41, 4 July 2007 (UTC) | |||
::, , , , | |||
==Neo-liberalism/Chicago school section== | |||
Thanks for your changes, but I've put back the referenced material, and put the stuff about Reagan and the Supreme Court together at the beginning. Please in future say which sentences you don't approve of in particular. If you had done that to begin with, then there might not have been the fuss. I've deleted the reference to "neo-liberalism" in the monopoly section - I presume that's what you object to? '''<font color="red">]</font><font color="gold">]</font>''' 08:02, 4 July 2007 (UTC) | |||
::I don't propose criticism section, because I'm not a fan of them either, but something more benign like The Effects of Competition law. Also, antitrust paradox should definitely get a mention in the lead. ] ] 21:21, 1 August 2008 (UTC) | |||
:No. I object to the mischaracterization of the Chicago School positions, and the lack of balance in the dominance and monopoly section, like I said. The referenced material was taken out for a reason. | |||
:*The entire article gives short shrift to Chicago School positions and lacks balance. | |||
:::Why haven't you done anything yet? I'm taking down the tag. It's only you who's worried, and now that you've done your neutrality check, and told us what you're going to do, all you need to do it do it. It would, though, I suggest that if you knew a bit more about the subject than what you find on google. :) ''']]''' 19:00, 4 August 2008 (UTC) | |||
::The entire article now? Blimey! Actually, I thought it was a page about law. Hopefully they aren't mentioned outside the parts on theory except in passing, like any other theorist. | |||
:*Posner's views are not "pro-big business." | |||
:: Why exactly is it a bad policy to have "criticism" sections? As a reader I've always found them quite useful, as they make it easy to find whatever controversy/criticism there is about the subject at hand, so that one wastes less time understanding both sides, and so that a person that isn't aware that the subject has been significantly criticized is more easily made aware that is was and why it was. | |||
::Alright, I'll remove it. Although, you're wrong - competition not competitors, etc. | |||
::If I hadn't the habit of reading the talk pages on wikipedia whenever articles don't sound right, I would've went away thinking this article was biased in favor of antitrust laws, because I saw no "criticism" section. I would never guess the Theory section included criticism, but rather that it merely explained in more depth the theory behind these laws, which doesn't require the inclusion of criticism of the theory. -- ] (]) 18:58, 22 March 2018 (UTC) | |||
:*Milton Friedman is not prominent in competition law issues, and the article is a caricature of his positions. | |||
:::] explains why "criticism" sections are to be avoided. I only read the Theory section, but criticism is integrated well there. ] (]) 05:09, 23 March 2018 (UTC) | |||
::Come on, he's a towering thinker of the twentieth century, and part of the same body of opinion! You're pulling our legs! | |||
::::I don't think it explains why they ought to be avoided as much as it simply describes the '''''opinions''''' certain editors hold against them, while still accepting that they are sometimes justified. Neither does it tackle my arguments. Moreover, I would like to know how they would objectively define "bad writing". | |||
:*I don't know what "In fact monopolies, they say, are created by government intervention that nationalises or attempts to regulate markets." is meant to say, because it's so vague as to be meaningless, along with weasel words, but that sort of sentence is typical of the mischaracterizations. | |||
::::I argue, again, that they're quite useful for research, or to refer someone specifically to alternative points of view. A good example that I've encountered before would be the article (or even the article), which allowed me personally to not have to filter out all the information irrelevant to my research and to find sources more effectively. As with the DSM, competition/anti-trust laws have received quite significant criticism from many notable critics. | |||
::Isn't it true? Nationalisation and regulation create monopolies, say the Chicago School. I'm not saying their views are good or bad at all! | |||
::::And again, I also argue that a section called "theory" is not an obvious place to expect to find criticism (refer to 2nd paragraph of my previous comment). -- ] (]) 18:14, 30 March 2018 (UTC) | |||
:*What the heck does "The deep splits existing in economic theory was even fought out in the US Supreme Court on one occasion, with Professor Philip Areeda, who favours more aggressive antitrust policy, pitted against Robert Bork's preference for non intervention." mean? Every antitrust litigation is fought out by opposing economic experts, and antitrust issues are decided in the Supreme Court annually. It's a non-notable fact and a contentless sentence. | |||
::I think the point is, that two very prominent academics got into litigation, which was in a way that isn't usual. | |||
== Image == | |||
:::Oh, and I've even got a published author who agrees with me - Giorgio Monti, EC Competition Law (2007), whose first chapter you can see online - see bottom of page 2. | |||
:*The whole page needs rewriting. Pronoun reference problems and sludgy writing everywhere. | |||
There has been no consensus to delete the image of the cartoon from the top of the page. It ought to remain there until otherwise agreed. ] (]) 18:46, 5 August 2008 (UTC) | |||
::At least I put verbs in my sentences. | |||
:*The edits you made took issues out of chronological order. | |||
:I've changed my mind; placing it at the section on US law is probably best. ] (]) 18:54, 5 August 2008 (UTC) | |||
::Mean to I didn't, sorry. | |||
:I don't have time to take on such tasks. I add tags, hoping people who know what they're doing pay attention to the page. Removing the tags without fixing the problem is not a solution; insulting those who point out the problem is offensive on its own, and violates ]. -- ] 08:25, 4 July 2007 (UTC) | |||
:: |
::You might remember that there was originally an entirely different picture there (or the DOJ building I think). I put that one in, because I thought it was by far the most competition law-specific image I could find. It's just good article practice to have a picture in the introduction. I don't really mind at all that ''that'' one isn't there, but I think one (or both) of should put one in that you do like. Surely that's only fair, and more constructive. ''']]''' 20:19, 5 August 2008 (UTC) | ||
:::Agreed, we should find ''something'' to stick in the introduction. I'd like this to make Featured Article status some day. ] (]) 20:21, 5 August 2008 (UTC) | |||
== "Some legal scholars have found that ..." == | |||
I've added that clause before the citation to Bork's text. I think that is a decent compromise and accurately reflects the current status, without granting any side of the debate undue weight. ] (]) 18:48, 5 August 2008 (UTC) | |||
:P.S. I'm a "legal scholar" myself, so I hope that I know what I'm talking about. ] (]) 18:56, 5 August 2008 (UTC) | |||
::I'm glad you're a legal scholar! And that you're being helpful. In fact I don't mind Bork being in there, and this skiff is part of the fact that the article is far from finished: the intro should of course summarise the theory section. Might I suggest attempting that? ''']]''' 20:21, 5 August 2008 (UTC) | |||
:::I forgot what I'd actually written in the intro. It works better now (you might notice that the intro was cleverly designed to be the reverse of the page's structure!) ''']]''' 20:30, 5 August 2008 (UTC) | |||
==Ownership issues still?== | |||
No article on Misplaced Pages is ever finished, so bristling at changes to a "far from finished" article is especially strange. | |||
is not helpful. I don't think anyone is accusing you of changing the meaning on purpose, but the sentence you proposed ''does'' have a different meaning. One would believe that Bork is accusing antitrust laws of necessarily helping inefficient competitors. No, he's not; in the United States, helping small competitors was one of the only coherent themes of pre-1970s antitrust law. Instead he's saying that consumer welfare is harmed '''''when''''' inefficient competitors are protected, ect. Anyhow, it's better to discuss these issues than make threats. ] '']'' 02:20, 8 August 2008 (UTC) | |||
:I'd like to give you a lesson on the use of the future ]. But I appreciate that in America - and for some Americans - grammatical usage is not as sophisticated. I also appreciate that you didn't just revert like a complete tool. As for your assertion about ownership issues, I call an article finished when I've put all footnotes into a sensible format, made it read properly straight through. I think that you should probably pay attention to the fact that the page did not exist before I came along. ''']]''' 09:29, 8 August 2008 (UTC) | |||
::Maybe you should remember that editing Misplaced Pages is a privilege, not a right. ] ] 19:17, 8 August 2008 (UTC) | |||
::I say that 14 months is long enough for an article to leave your womb. It can, should, and must be edited by others. Let it happen, and stop making personal attacks. (Good to know I'm not a ''complete'' tool. Thanks.) ] '']'' 05:16, 11 August 2008 (UTC) | |||
:::Well, duh, but that doesn't mean that I should stand by while it's messed up by complete tools. Oh, and if you were referring to my grammar comments, I protest, that entirely was not a personal attack. It was an attack against a sizeable proportion of your country. :) ''']]''' 09:39, 11 August 2008 (UTC) | |||
== Tags == | |||
The problems I listed in ] still, for the most part, have not been addressed, yet the tags were removed. ] (]) 18:07, 14 December 2008 (UTC) | |||
== Reason for tags == | |||
The vast majority of these were suggestions made in June 2007; only a few of them have been resolved. I've added new ones. This is, believe it or not, not a complete list. | |||
# The lead, and much of the article, fails to acknowledge the fundamental split between American antitrust law (protect competition, maximize consumer welfare) and European competition law (protect competitors). | |||
# No acknowledgement in the lead that Chicago School view of competition law is dominant theory behind US federal antitrust law, or the huge shift in American competition law between 1977 and 2007. | |||
# No mention of the controversy over global antitrust enforcement. See Richard Epstein on the subject. | |||
# No mention of Chicago School critique of leverage theory of anticompetitive behavior; instead tying is taken as example of anticompetitive behavior: "One case in point could be a software company who through its monopoly on computer platforms makes consumers use its media player" violates NPOV -- it is not unanimous opinion that this is anticompetitive. E.g., ''Schor v. Abbott Laboratories'', No. 05-3344 (7th Cir. 2006) (Easterbrook, J.). | |||
#"A refusal to supply a facility which is essential for all businesses attempting to compete to use can constitute an abuse." is a very controversial proposition, but there is no acknowledgement of that. | |||
# Competition law history section also inaccurate and pro-intervention POV | |||
# "The Sherman Act did not have the immediate effects its authors intended." -- cite needed. Seems quite POV. | |||
# Mischaracterization of Chicago School views throughout article | |||
# That ellipses in the description of the changes the meaning completely and renders the quote incoherent. | |||
# The line about "libertarians" and price-fixing is not accurate and contradicted by the footnote, which merely talks about a school of New Critics, and argues that fellow libertarians should oppose price-fixing. Not clear to me that New Critics merit more than a sentence or two, if that much, under ], but they definitely shouldn't be held to be representative of libertarians. | |||
#"When firms hold large market shares, up to one hundred percent, consumers are probably at risk of paying higher prices and getting lower quality products than if the market were competitive." - unclear meaning, and very poor explication of problem of market power, as well as conveying disputed POV that market share = market power | |||
#"However often firms take advantage of their increase in market power, their increased market share and decreased number of competitors, which can have a knock on effect on the deal that consumers get." obvious POV problem, inaccurate, and unencyclopedic | |||
#"The late Harvard Law School Professor Philip Areeda, who favours more aggressive antitrust policy, in at least one Supreme Court case challenged Robert Bork's preference for non-intervention." That Areeda and Bork participated in a particular Supreme Court case seems irrelevant trivia; economists file briefs in just about every US Supreme Court antitrust case in the last thirty years. | |||
#Predatory pricing section unbalanced and violates NPOV. | |||
#The entire "Dominance and monopoly" section is written from an EU perspective, without any acknowledgement of the more nuanced USA antitrust law perspective. | |||
#No acknowledgement of criticism of price discrimination law and the <i>de facto</i> abandonment of that cause of action in the US. | |||
#"An example of this could be offering rebates to industrial customers who export sugar that your company sells, but not to Irish customers who are selling in the same market as you are in." does not parse, and is probably inaccurate once written to parse. | |||
#No discussion of the importance of market definition, which, in the US at least, is fundamental to determining market power. | |||
#No acknowledgement of the central tenet of 21st-century American antitrust policy, as expressed by regulators and ''Spectrum Sports'': "The law directs itself not against conduct which is competitive, even severely so, but against conduct which unfairly tends to destroy competition itself." | |||
#Eurocentric; EC-regulators' view of the world discussed, while contrary American views are not. (E.g., ]s, where the EC decision to block the GE-Honeywell merger was roundly criticized by American regulators and academics. See discussion in conglomerate merger article.) | |||
#The "Public sector regulation" section is entirely Eurocentric, has no discussion of American views, and perhaps doesn't belong in this article at all: in the US, public utility regulation is considered a separate field from antitrust. | |||
#"Collusion and cartels" section written extraordinarily vaguely, has substandard discussion of the controversy over vertical agreements, and no mention of the extraordinary change in US law over the last thirty years with respect to vertical agreements. As with the rest of the article, the breezy tone both confuses the discussion and is inappropriate for Misplaced Pages. | |||
#Tacit collusion is not considered illegal price fixing in the US, e.g., ''Bell Atlantic v. Twombly'', (though Posner argues that it should be). | |||
#The "contemporary issues" section discusses European views only. There are contemporary issues in American antitrust law. It's also unclear why this is in the theory section, as no theory is discussed in the subsection. | |||
#The "Neo-classical synthesis" section seems nearly wholly extraneous. It appears to violate the ] guidelines. | |||
#No mention of the ''Illinois Brick'' issue. | |||
#No mention of the overlapping state and federal antitrust regulation in the US federalist system. | |||
#There is a consensus that the article is too long. So I am unsure why there is adding extraneous trivia about Smith and Mill that has no relevance to competition law today. Break all this out into the history of competition law article. | |||
#The history of competition law section is far far too long, since very little of today's competition law is built on what was done before the late 19th century. | |||
#"In the 1930s, Americans' fear of big business and their impending loss of accountability initiated the most aggressive antitrust campaign in history" is factually false. The New Deal was very pro-cartel. | |||
#British Air price-fixing is trivia that doesn't belong in the article. | |||
#United States v. AT&T was not "public sector regulation" but a traditional antitrust case. | |||
#"A merger or acquisition involves, from a competition law perspective, the concentration of economic power in the hands of fewer than before" is factually false or, at least, POV. Vertical mergers of monopolies can transfer economic surplus to consumers. | |||
#"Competition law requires that firms proposing to merge ... simply go ahead but face the prospect of demerger should the concentration later be found to lessen competition." is factually false in the US. | |||
#The extensive quotes of US statutes are not helpful, given that antitrust law in the US is largely a question of federal common law. The rule of reason is mentioned, but not explained, though it is critical to an understanding of US antitrust law. | |||
#No discussion of conflict between intellectual property law and antitrust. | |||
#No mention of ]. | |||
# Unencyclopedic tone of original research throughout. | |||
# Lead is disjointed, does not flow at all. | |||
# Entire article poorly and unclearly written, with passive voice, turgid text, pronoun reference problems, and weasel words abounding, as are grammar and punctuation problems and non sequiturs and irrelevant trivia. | |||
For these 40 or so reasons, I have added the {rewrite}, {expert}, {disputed}, {npov}, {globalize}, {weasel} and {originalresearch} tags. ] (]) 11:34, 10 February 2009 (UTC) | |||
===RFC=== | |||
*'''Comment on RFC''' I think THF makes a very good case above. The general presumption is that if a dedicated and earnest editor believes there is a NPOV problem, there probably is. Engage him directly, although it would probably be a good deal better for the tempers of all concerned if you worked on one issue at a time, instead of 40 (!) at once. ] (]) 16:01, 10 February 2009 (UTC) | |||
**I agree with that, but I think THF wrote this long list because naming a few examples were met with claims that those were isolated problems, then the flags removed. ] '']'' 17:01, 10 February 2009 (UTC) | |||
*'''Comment on RFC''' First, quickly, I found this page only by following the request for an ] review on the ]. I have no specific opinion on the topic, and in order to properly address the question posed on the NPOV Noticeboard, which is only to resolve the disagreement between THF and Wikidea over how to handle the NPOV disagreement between them (and not to resolve the content disputes), I have not read through the article in an attempt to avoid forming my own opinion on who is right and who is wrong about the issues being discussed and thusly allowing my own bias to come into my opinion. Instead, I have only read through the talk page (both this current and the archived page), and have a couple of main comments: | |||
# THF - You provide a number of criticisms of the article as written, but you do not offer specific solutions for addressing these issues. As this topic is clearly important to you, as evidenced by the obvious amount of time you have spent tracking this article and commenting on the talk page, I would propose that your comments should address not only what you believe is wrong with a specific section of the article, but also to provide a specific proposal on how to fix it, which you have, for the most part, not done. Specifically, I suggest that, where you take issue with a specific sentence or paragraph, provide a proposed alternative wording to that sentence or paragraph. Where you have issues with a section not being included at all, I suggest that you offer some proposed wording for what should be included and allow other users to provide comments so that a consensus can be reached on whether to include the topic and how to phrase the section. | |||
# Wikidea - As I have said in my introduction, I have not read the article myself and thusly have no opinion on whether or not the article violates ] requirements. However, I will say that, based on the comments provided by THF and by others within the talk pages, it is apparent that, true or not, there is a general opinion that the article needs some work in order to be NPOV. When this type of opinion exists, it is absolutely important to discuss these in a '''civil''' manner. Your personal attacks against THF are completely out of place here, as other users have raised concerns similar to his. | |||
# THF's employer has no bearing on this topic unless specific evidence can be provided either that a) THF himself has published comments suggesting his total opposition to this topic or b) the American Enterprise Institute's ''official'' position (not speculation based on their reputation as a conservative institution) on the topic. If this evidence can be provided, one could reasonable argue ]. However, without this evidence, there is no valid reason to conclude a COI exists. ] (]) 15:01, 17 February 2009 (UTC) | |||
:I'm not sure what you mean by "specific" solutions; it's hard to see how I could be more specific without entirely rewriting the article myself. ] (]) 15:24, 17 February 2009 (UTC) | |||
::What I mean is to offer proposed verbiage for the section which you are questioning. What I have seen for the most part is that you provide commentary that something is wrong, biased, etc., but you do not offer proposed text. The most efficient way to resolve this type of dispute is, when you see a sentence/paragraph/section that you do believe is wrong/biased, is to provide a re-write of the section, wherein you provide the verbiage you would find acceptable, thereby offering a starting point for negotiations to reach an acceptable solution, which most likely falls somewhere in between what you would like to see and what Wikidea would like to see. Providing this suggested verbiage in the talk page would also give other readers the ability to provide comment in order to assist in the dispute resolution process. ] (]) 08:37, 19 February 2009 (UTC) | |||
:::In other words, entirely rewriting the article. The tags and identification of the multiple problems are an intermediate step before I undertake that gigantic project. My comments should not be opaque to someone experienced in the field, but if you have specific concerns about my specific concerns, I'm happy to expand. ] (]) 15:59, 19 February 2009 (UTC) | |||
::::I believe that the issue may be in light of what you and Wikidea perceive to be important to the article. For instance, one of your comments above says "No mention of the ''Illinois Brick'' issue." However, without providing a context of how you would like this to be brought up and in what section, it could be difficult to interpret your comment. For instance, do you want this included in the History section, the US Antitrust section, or elsewhere? I hope that provides a clear enough example of what I mean with my comments. As I have no specific knowledge of or interest in the topic and am here only to assist in resolving a dispute request, as posted on the NPOV Noticeboard, I will say in all honesty that I have no intention of reviewing each of your points one-by-one and providing comments for each about how you should elaborate. If you have a need for more detailed comments on a point-by-point basis, I regret that I will be unable to provide them. ] (]) 16:31, 19 February 2009 (UTC) | |||
:::::As an EU-based practitioner, I would agree with all of THF's points raised above, and would be inclined to add another tag to the article, namely that it does not represent a worldwide view of the subject. Credit to THF for proposing to rewrite the piece; it has so much wrong with it I wouldn't know where to begin. By the by, I also note that much of the article is a repetition of what is to be found at ] which is too heavily weighted in favour of the ] development of the subject. ] (]) 08:31, 26 February 2009 (UTC) | |||
::::::: This article has had a lot of opposition to it from the very beginning, something I honestly fail to understand. As far as I understood, at the beginning this article was meant to be an explanation mostly of European competition law, as the US was covered under Anti-trust. That is why you will find that the Dominance and Monopoly sections are EU-centric - they were written from a EU pov (and it was most likely taken from Craig de Burca's EU text and the other opus w/ a similar title). Now it has taken on the shape of an article that is supposed to cover the entire world, something it honestly can't do. Nor can we expect this article to serve as a comparative analysis of the US & EU system. It can merely touch on some key factors. Now, I reserve my opinion on all of the actual economic theory, as I am no expert there. By all means, correct what is wrong here. | |||
::::::: I guess what I'm saying is that we all need to be clear on the objectives of this article. What is the overall aim of this article, what are we expecting readers to learn upon reading it? How much do you expect readers to understand about economic theory? What kind of an example is acceptable? e.g., I'm pretty sure the example about the software comes from a textbook.... | |||
::::::: Also, isn't a discussion of the intellectual property/competition law issue outside of the scope of this article? It has been touched on as a point of controversy in the WTO section, but we could write absolute reams on this issue. Imagine the size of the section if we introduced the public health TRIPS debate on comp law *alone* into this, nevermind the general question of it even existing under the WTO regimes. Just a few of my thoughts. --] (]) 21:58, 8 March 2009 (UTC) | |||
Agree with quite a few points on THF's list, but point 1 is incorrect. The SIEC test and the practice of the European Commission only have the protection of the consumer in mind, and not the protection of competitors. ] (]) 16:35, 14 February 2010 (UTC) | |||
==Conflict of interest== | |||
THF works for the ], a right wing lobby group, and the reason he brings this here now is that he is engaging in an attempt to delete the ] article. While some of that list of 40 may be relevant, editors are advised that this is probably more about pursuing a grudge than anything else. He is not willing to engage in discussion, or any constructive, incremental change, but would simply prefer to see whole articles deleted. Also, don't be fooled into tthinking he is an expert on this, despite his bombastic, self righteous tone. ''']]''' 14:10, 10 February 2009 (UTC) | |||
:Also, much of what he has written may well be relevant for the ] page. As I say, he is not interested in improving the encyclopedia, only trashing anything that doesn't conform with the views of his employers. ''']]''' 14:37, 10 February 2009 (UTC) | |||
::My employers don't have any views on the subject. But if you can tell me the official AEI position on ''Illinois Brick'' and ''Noerr-Pennington'', which I think should be discussed in the article, I'd love to hear it. ] (]) 14:53, 10 February 2009 (UTC) | |||
*'''Caution''' ] and ] is directly implicated here. Engage on the merits, not on the person. Since THF is writing about general matters of law and politics and not anything in which he has a personal stake, ] doesn't come into it. ] (]) 16:05, 10 February 2009 (UTC) | |||
== The Robert Bork citation makes no sense. == | |||
The following paragraph makes no sense whatso: | |||
Robert Bork has argued that competition laws can produce adverse effects when they reduce competition by protecting inefficient competitors and when costs of legal intervention are greater than benefits for the consumers. | |||
Allegedly Bork claims that “competition laws … … reduce competition by protecting inefficient competitors”. That means that competition laws sometimes have exactly the opposite effect of what they’re intended to do. I find that a paradoxical statement that requires explanation. Or else the writer made a stupid mistake and didn't bother to proofread what he wrote, which is a more likely explanation. | |||
I don't think even such a dimwit as Robert Bork would state something so outlandish without at least giving an example of what he meant. I had the misfortune to read some of his ramblings on economics, and I got the clear impression that he does not have the foggiest notion of what he's writing about. He uses economic theory as a blunt instrument. His thinking on economic matters is crude, ponderous and mechanical. | |||
Bork is the Sayyid Qutb of conservatism (and just about as pig-headed as that worthy). | |||
I won't even go into the dirt dished on him by the guy who started Media Matters, a right-wing libelist, Matt Something, the darling of the right, who switched sides when he was finally nauseated by the festering corruption of conservative politics. What he has to say about Bork’s political and judicial shenanigans shows that Bork is the closest thing to Josef Stalin that ever got within hailing distance of a Supreme Court job. In any case he's a heavy-duty dirtbag, and I reject his prattle on purely ethical grounds. | |||
By the way, there are right-wing economists whom I respect, like Hayek and Demsetz§] (]) 08:05, 1 May 2010 (UTC)Mumbo-Jumbophobe. | |||
:When the competition laws protect competitors rather than competition, it hurts consumers. This is not a controversial proposition, and it is one that has been adopted by the U.S. Supreme Court. Separately, please review ]. Your personal opinion about Bork is quite irrelevant. ] (]) 09:06, 1 May 2010 (UTC) | |||
== Origin of modern competition law == | |||
I'm very much a novice in this field, however this article cites the US Sherman Act of 1890 as the origin of modern competition law. | |||
The Canadian "Act for the Suppression of Combinations Formed in Restraint of Trade" (see http://heinonline.org/HOL/LandingPage?collection=journals&handle=hein.journals/canusa12&div=9&id=&page=) was in 1889... this should at least be mentioned in the article. | |||
] (]) 03:24, 13 November 2010 (UTC) | |||
== "The Sherman Act did not have the immediate effects its authors intended" == | |||
In the United Stated antitrust sentence, one of the paragraphs states "The Sherman Act did not have the immediate effects its authors intended", without explaining why, or what the immediate effects were. Don't remember offhand myself... | |||
--] (]) 07:15, 29 November 2010 (UTC) | |||
:I was able to find an article on a website for a division of the US National Archives regarding The Sherman Act. This act was created to break up large trusts that threatened consumer choice, and therefore, comsumer prices, through the bundling of all the different companies owned by the entity or individual under one umbrella 'trust'. The article I found only implies the "immediate effect" was to dismantle ''The Standard Oil Company''. This and other companies were operated by the "]" that had come to be in that era (ie: ], ], ], and ], to name a few). However, one can only assume, from this implication, that this was to be the "immediate effect" mentioned in this section. FYI, the article I used to make that assumption can be found at: http://www.ourdocuments.gov/doc.php?flash=true&doc=51 , a site maintained by the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) division of the National Archives of the United States. I think we need to get consensus before altering the article, though. ]] 07:27, 11 July 2011 (UTC) | |||
== EU part == | |||
It needs to get the new TFEU articles numbers. ] (]) 18:36, 12 March 2011 (UTC) | |||
== "Restraint of trade in india" (sic) == | |||
I refer to the final sentence of the "Principles" section: | |||
:Different terms were used to describe this area of the law, including "restrictive practices," "the law of monopolies," "combination acts" and the "restraint of trade in india" | |||
Could someone who is familiar with the work at hand (Smith) tell us if this means India the country or some sort of 'india' commodity (rubber, ink, etc.)? ] (]) 21:17, 27 March 2013 (UTC) | |||
== Badly Written!! == | |||
This page is suffering from ham-fisted editing that makes it appear to be written by someone who's first language is not english. Examples: under heading Theory, subheading Neo-classical Synthesis, "...or alternatively rational producers will be reduce their output to..." Will be reduce their output to? That is gibberish. And under heading Practice, subheading Dominance and monopoly, "This was the alleged case in Microsoft v. Commission leading to an eventual fine of million for including its Windows Media Player..." an eventual fine of 'million', whatever that means... and I suspect there are more, I didn't read the whole page. I find it hard to believe this page was ever a 'former good article nominee', but one thing is for sure, unless editors of this page start proof-reading their edits, it will never again be nominated as a good article. <small class="autosigned">— Preceding ] comment added by ] (]) 07:21, 24 March 2015 (UTC)</small><!-- Template:Unsigned IP --> <!--Autosigned by SineBot--> | |||
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Latest revision as of 03:08, 9 January 2024
This is the talk page for discussing improvements to the Competition law article. This is not a forum for general discussion of the article's subject. |
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Competition law was a good articles nominee, but did not meet the good article criteria at the time. There may be suggestions below for improving the article. Once these issues have been addressed, the article can be renominated. Editors may also seek a reassessment of the decision if they believe there was a mistake. | |||||||||||||
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Introduction
Which sources have been used for it? -- Vision Thing -- 14:34, 8 December 2007 (UTC)
- Somewhere, lost in the ideological battles above, someone deleted the references I'd written in! If you look back in the histories you'll find them. But it appeared that one person in particular didn't like it! Please do put'm back in. Wikidea 13:31, 11 December 2007 (UTC)
Post war consensus and European Union law references
Can anybody show me references for these sections? Linking to main article just is not enough, one needs to supply refs localy.--Kozuch (talk) 22:58, 23 July 2008 (UTC)
Section names
I suggest simplifying the main section names - removing "Competition law" from them.--Kozuch (talk) 22:59, 23 July 2008 (UTC)
- That seems to match the MOS, "Avoid restating or directly referring to the topic or to wording on a higher level in the hierarchy". Cretog8 (talk) 23:06, 23 July 2008 (UTC)
Citing material
User:Kozuch keeps adding tags on two sections saying there aren't references. I referred him to WP:CITE, and pointed out there are loads of references (i.e. the links to the specific statutes and articles of the EC Treaty), that the whole thing is in summary style anyway, but I'm not sure he's going to listen. Would anyone like to comment on what they feel is lacking? And then would they like to do it themselves? As it stands I think that just moaning is singularly unproductive. Wikidea 19:28, 27 July 2008 (UTC)
Neutrality check
From my reading of few sections of the article there seems to be some POV problems. For one article seems to be written from perspective that more regulation is better. For example, in section Post war development it is stated that "Commonwealth countries were slow in enacting statutory competition law provisions." Why "slow", why not "reluctant" or something else? Also, there seems to be a lack of criticism for concept of "competition law" in general and it seems to lack any criticism of its application in practice. I'm pretty sure there were many examples where competition laws were used to stifle completion instead of supporting it, and examples of market dominant firms that simply lost its place in the market without any government intervention. In short, my impression is that this article was written from viewpoint of eager anti-trust lawmakers while viewpoint of business is neglected. -- Vision Thing -- 19:10, 31 July 2008 (UTC)
- You're welcome to change the word to "reluctant". I think that the theory section offers people's criticisms already: it's bad Misplaced Pages policy to have "criticism" sections if that's what you mean. Which viewpoints of business did you have in mind? Wikidea 23:47, 31 July 2008 (UTC)
- I did a brief search and in my opinion we should include more material like this:
- I don't propose criticism section, because I'm not a fan of them either, but something more benign like The Effects of Competition law. Also, antitrust paradox should definitely get a mention in the lead. -- Vision Thing -- 21:21, 1 August 2008 (UTC)
- Why haven't you done anything yet? I'm taking down the tag. It's only you who's worried, and now that you've done your neutrality check, and told us what you're going to do, all you need to do it do it. It would, though, I suggest that if you knew a bit more about the subject than what you find on google. :) Wikidea 19:00, 4 August 2008 (UTC)
- Why exactly is it a bad policy to have "criticism" sections? As a reader I've always found them quite useful, as they make it easy to find whatever controversy/criticism there is about the subject at hand, so that one wastes less time understanding both sides, and so that a person that isn't aware that the subject has been significantly criticized is more easily made aware that is was and why it was.
- If I hadn't the habit of reading the talk pages on wikipedia whenever articles don't sound right, I would've went away thinking this article was biased in favor of antitrust laws, because I saw no "criticism" section. I would never guess the Theory section included criticism, but rather that it merely explained in more depth the theory behind these laws, which doesn't require the inclusion of criticism of the theory. -- Skaruts (talk) 18:58, 22 March 2018 (UTC)
- WP:CRITS explains why "criticism" sections are to be avoided. I only read the Theory section, but criticism is integrated well there. Abierma3 (talk) 05:09, 23 March 2018 (UTC)
- I don't think it explains why they ought to be avoided as much as it simply describes the opinions certain editors hold against them, while still accepting that they are sometimes justified. Neither does it tackle my arguments. Moreover, I would like to know how they would objectively define "bad writing".
- I argue, again, that they're quite useful for research, or to refer someone specifically to alternative points of view. A good example that I've encountered before would be the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) article (or even the DSM-5 article), which allowed me personally to not have to filter out all the information irrelevant to my research and to find sources more effectively. As with the DSM, competition/anti-trust laws have received quite significant criticism from many notable critics.
- And again, I also argue that a section called "theory" is not an obvious place to expect to find criticism (refer to 2nd paragraph of my previous comment). -- Skaruts (talk) 18:14, 30 March 2018 (UTC)
- WP:CRITS explains why "criticism" sections are to be avoided. I only read the Theory section, but criticism is integrated well there. Abierma3 (talk) 05:09, 23 March 2018 (UTC)
Image
There has been no consensus to delete the image of the cartoon from the top of the page. It ought to remain there until otherwise agreed. Bearian (talk) 18:46, 5 August 2008 (UTC)
- I've changed my mind; placing it at the section on US law is probably best. Bearian (talk) 18:54, 5 August 2008 (UTC)
- You might remember that there was originally an entirely different picture there (or the DOJ building I think). I put that one in, because I thought it was by far the most competition law-specific image I could find. It's just good article practice to have a picture in the introduction. I don't really mind at all that that one isn't there, but I think one (or both) of should put one in that you do like. Surely that's only fair, and more constructive. Wikidea 20:19, 5 August 2008 (UTC)
- Agreed, we should find something to stick in the introduction. I'd like this to make Featured Article status some day. Bearian (talk) 20:21, 5 August 2008 (UTC)
"Some legal scholars have found that ..."
I've added that clause before the citation to Bork's text. I think that is a decent compromise and accurately reflects the current status, without granting any side of the debate undue weight. Bearian (talk) 18:48, 5 August 2008 (UTC)
- P.S. I'm a "legal scholar" myself, so I hope that I know what I'm talking about. Bearian (talk) 18:56, 5 August 2008 (UTC)
- I'm glad you're a legal scholar! And that you're being helpful. In fact I don't mind Bork being in there, and this skiff is part of the fact that the article is far from finished: the intro should of course summarise the theory section. Might I suggest attempting that? Wikidea 20:21, 5 August 2008 (UTC)
- I forgot what I'd actually written in the intro. It works better now (you might notice that the intro was cleverly designed to be the reverse of the page's structure!) Wikidea 20:30, 5 August 2008 (UTC)
- I'm glad you're a legal scholar! And that you're being helpful. In fact I don't mind Bork being in there, and this skiff is part of the fact that the article is far from finished: the intro should of course summarise the theory section. Might I suggest attempting that? Wikidea 20:21, 5 August 2008 (UTC)
Ownership issues still?
No article on Misplaced Pages is ever finished, so bristling at changes to a "far from finished" article is especially strange.
This comment is not helpful. I don't think anyone is accusing you of changing the meaning on purpose, but the sentence you proposed does have a different meaning. One would believe that Bork is accusing antitrust laws of necessarily helping inefficient competitors. No, he's not; in the United States, helping small competitors was one of the only coherent themes of pre-1970s antitrust law. Instead he's saying that consumer welfare is harmed when inefficient competitors are protected, ect. Anyhow, it's better to discuss these issues than make threats. Cool Hand Luke 02:20, 8 August 2008 (UTC)
- I'd like to give you a lesson on the use of the future subjunctive tense. But I appreciate that in America - and for some Americans - grammatical usage is not as sophisticated. I also appreciate that you didn't just revert like a complete tool. As for your assertion about ownership issues, I call an article finished when I've put all footnotes into a sensible format, made it read properly straight through. I think that you should probably pay attention to the fact that the page did not exist before I came along. Wikidea 09:29, 8 August 2008 (UTC)
- Maybe you should remember that editing Misplaced Pages is a privilege, not a right. -- Vision Thing -- 19:17, 8 August 2008 (UTC)
- I say that 14 months is long enough for an article to leave your womb. It can, should, and must be edited by others. Let it happen, and stop making personal attacks. (Good to know I'm not a complete tool. Thanks.) Cool Hand Luke 05:16, 11 August 2008 (UTC)
- Well, duh, but that doesn't mean that I should stand by while it's messed up by complete tools. Oh, and if you were referring to my grammar comments, I protest, that entirely was not a personal attack. It was an attack against a sizeable proportion of your country. :) Wikidea 09:39, 11 August 2008 (UTC)
Tags
The problems I listed in Talk:Competition law/Old still, for the most part, have not been addressed, yet the tags were removed. THF (talk) 18:07, 14 December 2008 (UTC)
Reason for tags
The vast majority of these were suggestions made in June 2007; only a few of them have been resolved. I've added new ones. This is, believe it or not, not a complete list.
- The lead, and much of the article, fails to acknowledge the fundamental split between American antitrust law (protect competition, maximize consumer welfare) and European competition law (protect competitors).
- No acknowledgement in the lead that Chicago School view of competition law is dominant theory behind US federal antitrust law, or the huge shift in American competition law between 1977 and 2007.
- No mention of the controversy over global antitrust enforcement. See Richard Epstein on the subject.
- No mention of Chicago School critique of leverage theory of anticompetitive behavior; instead tying is taken as example of anticompetitive behavior: "One case in point could be a software company who through its monopoly on computer platforms makes consumers use its media player" violates NPOV -- it is not unanimous opinion that this is anticompetitive. E.g., Schor v. Abbott Laboratories, No. 05-3344 (7th Cir. 2006) (Easterbrook, J.).
- "A refusal to supply a facility which is essential for all businesses attempting to compete to use can constitute an abuse." is a very controversial proposition, but there is no acknowledgement of that.
- Competition law history section also inaccurate and pro-intervention POV
- "The Sherman Act did not have the immediate effects its authors intended." -- cite needed. Seems quite POV.
- Mischaracterization of Chicago School views throughout article
- That ellipses in the description of the New Law changes the meaning completely and renders the quote incoherent.
- The line about "libertarians" and price-fixing is not accurate and contradicted by the footnote, which merely talks about a school of New Critics, and argues that fellow libertarians should oppose price-fixing. Not clear to me that New Critics merit more than a sentence or two, if that much, under WP:WEIGHT, but they definitely shouldn't be held to be representative of libertarians.
- "When firms hold large market shares, up to one hundred percent, consumers are probably at risk of paying higher prices and getting lower quality products than if the market were competitive." - unclear meaning, and very poor explication of problem of market power, as well as conveying disputed POV that market share = market power
- "However often firms take advantage of their increase in market power, their increased market share and decreased number of competitors, which can have a knock on effect on the deal that consumers get." obvious POV problem, inaccurate, and unencyclopedic
- "The late Harvard Law School Professor Philip Areeda, who favours more aggressive antitrust policy, in at least one Supreme Court case challenged Robert Bork's preference for non-intervention." That Areeda and Bork participated in a particular Supreme Court case seems irrelevant trivia; economists file briefs in just about every US Supreme Court antitrust case in the last thirty years.
- Predatory pricing section unbalanced and violates NPOV.
- The entire "Dominance and monopoly" section is written from an EU perspective, without any acknowledgement of the more nuanced USA antitrust law perspective.
- No acknowledgement of criticism of price discrimination law and the de facto abandonment of that cause of action in the US.
- "An example of this could be offering rebates to industrial customers who export sugar that your company sells, but not to Irish customers who are selling in the same market as you are in." does not parse, and is probably inaccurate once written to parse.
- No discussion of the importance of market definition, which, in the US at least, is fundamental to determining market power.
- No acknowledgement of the central tenet of 21st-century American antitrust policy, as expressed by regulators and Spectrum Sports: "The law directs itself not against conduct which is competitive, even severely so, but against conduct which unfairly tends to destroy competition itself."
- Eurocentric; EC-regulators' view of the world discussed, while contrary American views are not. (E.g., conglomerate mergers, where the EC decision to block the GE-Honeywell merger was roundly criticized by American regulators and academics. See discussion in conglomerate merger article.)
- The "Public sector regulation" section is entirely Eurocentric, has no discussion of American views, and perhaps doesn't belong in this article at all: in the US, public utility regulation is considered a separate field from antitrust.
- "Collusion and cartels" section written extraordinarily vaguely, has substandard discussion of the controversy over vertical agreements, and no mention of the extraordinary change in US law over the last thirty years with respect to vertical agreements. As with the rest of the article, the breezy tone both confuses the discussion and is inappropriate for Misplaced Pages.
- Tacit collusion is not considered illegal price fixing in the US, e.g., Bell Atlantic v. Twombly, (though Posner argues that it should be).
- The "contemporary issues" section discusses European views only. There are contemporary issues in American antitrust law. It's also unclear why this is in the theory section, as no theory is discussed in the subsection.
- The "Neo-classical synthesis" section seems nearly wholly extraneous. It appears to violate the WP:NOR guidelines.
- No mention of the Illinois Brick issue.
- No mention of the overlapping state and federal antitrust regulation in the US federalist system.
- There is a consensus that the article is too long. So I am unsure why there is adding extraneous trivia about Smith and Mill that has no relevance to competition law today. Break all this out into the history of competition law article.
- The history of competition law section is far far too long, since very little of today's competition law is built on what was done before the late 19th century.
- "In the 1930s, Americans' fear of big business and their impending loss of accountability initiated the most aggressive antitrust campaign in history" is factually false. The New Deal was very pro-cartel.
- British Air price-fixing is trivia that doesn't belong in the article.
- United States v. AT&T was not "public sector regulation" but a traditional antitrust case.
- "A merger or acquisition involves, from a competition law perspective, the concentration of economic power in the hands of fewer than before" is factually false or, at least, POV. Vertical mergers of monopolies can transfer economic surplus to consumers.
- "Competition law requires that firms proposing to merge ... simply go ahead but face the prospect of demerger should the concentration later be found to lessen competition." is factually false in the US.
- The extensive quotes of US statutes are not helpful, given that antitrust law in the US is largely a question of federal common law. The rule of reason is mentioned, but not explained, though it is critical to an understanding of US antitrust law.
- No discussion of conflict between intellectual property law and antitrust.
- No mention of Noerr-Pennington doctrine.
- Unencyclopedic tone of original research throughout.
- Lead is disjointed, does not flow at all.
- Entire article poorly and unclearly written, with passive voice, turgid text, pronoun reference problems, and weasel words abounding, as are grammar and punctuation problems and non sequiturs and irrelevant trivia.
For these 40 or so reasons, I have added the {rewrite}, {expert}, {disputed}, {npov}, {globalize}, {weasel} and {originalresearch} tags. THF (talk) 11:34, 10 February 2009 (UTC)
RFC
- Comment on RFC I think THF makes a very good case above. The general presumption is that if a dedicated and earnest editor believes there is a NPOV problem, there probably is. Engage him directly, although it would probably be a good deal better for the tempers of all concerned if you worked on one issue at a time, instead of 40 (!) at once. Ray (talk) 16:01, 10 February 2009 (UTC)
- I agree with that, but I think THF wrote this long list because naming a few examples were met with claims that those were isolated problems, then the flags removed. Cool Hand Luke 17:01, 10 February 2009 (UTC)
- Comment on RFC First, quickly, I found this page only by following the request for an WP:NPOV review on the NPOV noticeboard. I have no specific opinion on the topic, and in order to properly address the question posed on the NPOV Noticeboard, which is only to resolve the disagreement between THF and Wikidea over how to handle the NPOV disagreement between them (and not to resolve the content disputes), I have not read through the article in an attempt to avoid forming my own opinion on who is right and who is wrong about the issues being discussed and thusly allowing my own bias to come into my opinion. Instead, I have only read through the talk page (both this current and the archived page), and have a couple of main comments:
- THF - You provide a number of criticisms of the article as written, but you do not offer specific solutions for addressing these issues. As this topic is clearly important to you, as evidenced by the obvious amount of time you have spent tracking this article and commenting on the talk page, I would propose that your comments should address not only what you believe is wrong with a specific section of the article, but also to provide a specific proposal on how to fix it, which you have, for the most part, not done. Specifically, I suggest that, where you take issue with a specific sentence or paragraph, provide a proposed alternative wording to that sentence or paragraph. Where you have issues with a section not being included at all, I suggest that you offer some proposed wording for what should be included and allow other users to provide comments so that a consensus can be reached on whether to include the topic and how to phrase the section.
- Wikidea - As I have said in my introduction, I have not read the article myself and thusly have no opinion on whether or not the article violates WP:NPOV requirements. However, I will say that, based on the comments provided by THF and by others within the talk pages, it is apparent that, true or not, there is a general opinion that the article needs some work in order to be NPOV. When this type of opinion exists, it is absolutely important to discuss these in a civil manner. Your personal attacks against THF are completely out of place here, as other users have raised concerns similar to his.
- THF's employer has no bearing on this topic unless specific evidence can be provided either that a) THF himself has published comments suggesting his total opposition to this topic or b) the American Enterprise Institute's official position (not speculation based on their reputation as a conservative institution) on the topic. If this evidence can be provided, one could reasonable argue WP:COI. However, without this evidence, there is no valid reason to conclude a COI exists. Deleteyourself16 (talk) 15:01, 17 February 2009 (UTC)
- I'm not sure what you mean by "specific" solutions; it's hard to see how I could be more specific without entirely rewriting the article myself. THF (talk) 15:24, 17 February 2009 (UTC)
- What I mean is to offer proposed verbiage for the section which you are questioning. What I have seen for the most part is that you provide commentary that something is wrong, biased, etc., but you do not offer proposed text. The most efficient way to resolve this type of dispute is, when you see a sentence/paragraph/section that you do believe is wrong/biased, is to provide a re-write of the section, wherein you provide the verbiage you would find acceptable, thereby offering a starting point for negotiations to reach an acceptable solution, which most likely falls somewhere in between what you would like to see and what Wikidea would like to see. Providing this suggested verbiage in the talk page would also give other readers the ability to provide comment in order to assist in the dispute resolution process. Deleteyourself16 (talk) 08:37, 19 February 2009 (UTC)
- In other words, entirely rewriting the article. The tags and identification of the multiple problems are an intermediate step before I undertake that gigantic project. My comments should not be opaque to someone experienced in the field, but if you have specific concerns about my specific concerns, I'm happy to expand. THF (talk) 15:59, 19 February 2009 (UTC)
- I believe that the issue may be in light of what you and Wikidea perceive to be important to the article. For instance, one of your comments above says "No mention of the Illinois Brick issue." However, without providing a context of how you would like this to be brought up and in what section, it could be difficult to interpret your comment. For instance, do you want this included in the History section, the US Antitrust section, or elsewhere? I hope that provides a clear enough example of what I mean with my comments. As I have no specific knowledge of or interest in the topic and am here only to assist in resolving a dispute request, as posted on the NPOV Noticeboard, I will say in all honesty that I have no intention of reviewing each of your points one-by-one and providing comments for each about how you should elaborate. If you have a need for more detailed comments on a point-by-point basis, I regret that I will be unable to provide them. Deleteyourself16 (talk) 16:31, 19 February 2009 (UTC)
- As an EU-based practitioner, I would agree with all of THF's points raised above, and would be inclined to add another tag to the article, namely that it does not represent a worldwide view of the subject. Credit to THF for proposing to rewrite the piece; it has so much wrong with it I wouldn't know where to begin. By the by, I also note that much of the article is a repetition of what is to be found at History of competition law which is too heavily weighted in favour of the anglo-saxon development of the subject. Lamberhurst (talk) 08:31, 26 February 2009 (UTC)
- This article has had a lot of opposition to it from the very beginning, something I honestly fail to understand. As far as I understood, at the beginning this article was meant to be an explanation mostly of European competition law, as the US was covered under Anti-trust. That is why you will find that the Dominance and Monopoly sections are EU-centric - they were written from a EU pov (and it was most likely taken from Craig de Burca's EU text and the other opus w/ a similar title). Now it has taken on the shape of an article that is supposed to cover the entire world, something it honestly can't do. Nor can we expect this article to serve as a comparative analysis of the US & EU system. It can merely touch on some key factors. Now, I reserve my opinion on all of the actual economic theory, as I am no expert there. By all means, correct what is wrong here.
- I guess what I'm saying is that we all need to be clear on the objectives of this article. What is the overall aim of this article, what are we expecting readers to learn upon reading it? How much do you expect readers to understand about economic theory? What kind of an example is acceptable? e.g., I'm pretty sure the example about the software comes from a textbook....
- Also, isn't a discussion of the intellectual property/competition law issue outside of the scope of this article? It has been touched on as a point of controversy in the WTO section, but we could write absolute reams on this issue. Imagine the size of the section if we introduced the public health TRIPS debate on comp law *alone* into this, nevermind the general question of it even existing under the WTO regimes. Just a few of my thoughts. --Sephui (talk) 21:58, 8 March 2009 (UTC)
Agree with quite a few points on THF's list, but point 1 is incorrect. The SIEC test and the practice of the European Commission only have the protection of the consumer in mind, and not the protection of competitors. SmilingBoy (talk) 16:35, 14 February 2010 (UTC)
Conflict of interest
THF works for the American Enterprise Institute, a right wing lobby group, and the reason he brings this here now is that he is engaging in an attempt to delete the tort reform article. While some of that list of 40 may be relevant, editors are advised that this is probably more about pursuing a grudge than anything else. He is not willing to engage in discussion, or any constructive, incremental change, but would simply prefer to see whole articles deleted. Also, don't be fooled into tthinking he is an expert on this, despite his bombastic, self righteous tone. Wikidea 14:10, 10 February 2009 (UTC)
- Also, much of what he has written may well be relevant for the US antitrust page. As I say, he is not interested in improving the encyclopedia, only trashing anything that doesn't conform with the views of his employers. Wikidea 14:37, 10 February 2009 (UTC)
- My employers don't have any views on the subject. But if you can tell me the official AEI position on Illinois Brick and Noerr-Pennington, which I think should be discussed in the article, I'd love to hear it. THF (talk) 14:53, 10 February 2009 (UTC)
- Caution WP:NPA and WP:AGF is directly implicated here. Engage on the merits, not on the person. Since THF is writing about general matters of law and politics and not anything in which he has a personal stake, WP:COI doesn't come into it. Ray (talk) 16:05, 10 February 2009 (UTC)
The Robert Bork citation makes no sense.
The following paragraph makes no sense whatso:
Robert Bork has argued that competition laws can produce adverse effects when they reduce competition by protecting inefficient competitors and when costs of legal intervention are greater than benefits for the consumers.
Allegedly Bork claims that “competition laws … … reduce competition by protecting inefficient competitors”. That means that competition laws sometimes have exactly the opposite effect of what they’re intended to do. I find that a paradoxical statement that requires explanation. Or else the writer made a stupid mistake and didn't bother to proofread what he wrote, which is a more likely explanation.
I don't think even such a dimwit as Robert Bork would state something so outlandish without at least giving an example of what he meant. I had the misfortune to read some of his ramblings on economics, and I got the clear impression that he does not have the foggiest notion of what he's writing about. He uses economic theory as a blunt instrument. His thinking on economic matters is crude, ponderous and mechanical.
Bork is the Sayyid Qutb of conservatism (and just about as pig-headed as that worthy).
I won't even go into the dirt dished on him by the guy who started Media Matters, a right-wing libelist, Matt Something, the darling of the right, who switched sides when he was finally nauseated by the festering corruption of conservative politics. What he has to say about Bork’s political and judicial shenanigans shows that Bork is the closest thing to Josef Stalin that ever got within hailing distance of a Supreme Court job. In any case he's a heavy-duty dirtbag, and I reject his prattle on purely ethical grounds.
By the way, there are right-wing economists whom I respect, like Hayek and Demsetz§Mumbo-jumbophobe (talk) 08:05, 1 May 2010 (UTC)Mumbo-Jumbophobe.
- When the competition laws protect competitors rather than competition, it hurts consumers. This is not a controversial proposition, and it is one that has been adopted by the U.S. Supreme Court. Separately, please review WP:NOT#CHAT. Your personal opinion about Bork is quite irrelevant. THF (talk) 09:06, 1 May 2010 (UTC)
Origin of modern competition law
I'm very much a novice in this field, however this article cites the US Sherman Act of 1890 as the origin of modern competition law.
The Canadian "Act for the Suppression of Combinations Formed in Restraint of Trade" (see http://heinonline.org/HOL/LandingPage?collection=journals&handle=hein.journals/canusa12&div=9&id=&page=) was in 1889... this should at least be mentioned in the article.
216.121.218.12 (talk) 03:24, 13 November 2010 (UTC)
"The Sherman Act did not have the immediate effects its authors intended"
In the United Stated antitrust sentence, one of the paragraphs states "The Sherman Act did not have the immediate effects its authors intended", without explaining why, or what the immediate effects were. Don't remember offhand myself... --Agamemnus (talk) 07:15, 29 November 2010 (UTC)
- I was able to find an article on a website for a division of the US National Archives regarding The Sherman Act. This act was created to break up large trusts that threatened consumer choice, and therefore, comsumer prices, through the bundling of all the different companies owned by the entity or individual under one umbrella 'trust'. The article I found only implies the "immediate effect" was to dismantle The Standard Oil Company. This and other companies were operated by the "robber barons" that had come to be in that era (ie: Rockefeller, Vanderbilt, Carnegie, and Morgan, to name a few). However, one can only assume, from this implication, that this was to be the "immediate effect" mentioned in this section. FYI, the article I used to make that assumption can be found at: http://www.ourdocuments.gov/doc.php?flash=true&doc=51 , a site maintained by the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) division of the National Archives of the United States. I think we need to get consensus before altering the article, though. There is nothing civil about Civil War.Let's Talk! 07:27, 11 July 2011 (UTC)
EU part
It needs to get the new TFEU articles numbers. Cimmerian praetor (talk) 18:36, 12 March 2011 (UTC)
"Restraint of trade in india" (sic)
I refer to the final sentence of the "Principles" section:
- Different terms were used to describe this area of the law, including "restrictive practices," "the law of monopolies," "combination acts" and the "restraint of trade in india"
Could someone who is familiar with the work at hand (Smith) tell us if this means India the country or some sort of 'india' commodity (rubber, ink, etc.)? Iain (talk) 21:17, 27 March 2013 (UTC)
Badly Written!!
This page is suffering from ham-fisted editing that makes it appear to be written by someone who's first language is not english. Examples: under heading Theory, subheading Neo-classical Synthesis, "...or alternatively rational producers will be reduce their output to..." Will be reduce their output to? That is gibberish. And under heading Practice, subheading Dominance and monopoly, "This was the alleged case in Microsoft v. Commission leading to an eventual fine of million for including its Windows Media Player..." an eventual fine of 'million', whatever that means... and I suspect there are more, I didn't read the whole page. I find it hard to believe this page was ever a 'former good article nominee', but one thing is for sure, unless editors of this page start proof-reading their edits, it will never again be nominated as a good article. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 99.199.5.24 (talk) 07:21, 24 March 2015 (UTC)
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