Fairness and the Challenge of Making Markets Work Better

Abstract This article explores the revival of fairness as the lodestar of EU competition enforcement. It considers the theory and evolving discourse of fairness, then identifies and evaluates examples of fairness‐oriented enforcement activity. Concluding that fairness represents a distinct development from the ‘hipster antitrust’ movement, the article suggests reasons to explain the shift, including a need to rehabilitate the social market economy in an age of market‐scepticism, and to facilitate the progressive expansion of competition law to address modern market failures.