Ordoliberalism in European Competition Policy : The Logic of Democratic Capitalism in Talbot’s Essay

Similar to the two North American countries — Canada and the United States — the European Union has a fairly long history with the adoption and administering of their competition law. The heterogeneity characterizing the European Union, however, meant that the European competition law had to be designed and delivered in a manner that was sensitive to the political economy demands of its constituent nations, the principles of market competition, and the intricacies of the ‘‘European project.'' Conor Talbot's article, ‘‘Ordoliberalism and Balancing Competition Goals in the Development of the European Union,'' examines the role that the European competition policies played in the development of the European project and its associated economic, social, and political goals during the post–World War II period. The article focuses on how the European competition policies complemented the democratic and capitalistic ideals of the emerging European integration. In the process, the article contributes to our understanding of the evolving nexus between capitalism, democracy, and competition laws in the European political economy