In Search of Economic Justice : Considering Competition and Consumer Protection Law

Competition and consumer protection law are intimately related, two sides of the same coin of consumer sovereignty and hence economic justice. Somewhat surprisingly, this relationship is only beginning to be recognized by academics and policy makers. Even more interestingly, the fundamental unity of competition and consumer protection law has been urged by both adherents and critics of the Chicago school leaving open the question of how the laws should be harmonized and enforced. In this essay, I survey the competing models at the federal and state level as to how competition and consumer protection are occasionally integrated and more commonly viewed as independent bodies of law. I briefly explore the reasons for this confusion which are more historical and institutional rather than theoretical. I conclude with suggestions for more closely integrating the two bodies of law both in the United States and abroad in a way that furthers the tangible rather than theoretical interests of consumers