Toward a Republican Understanding of Antitrust

In this article, I argue that the Brandeisian antitrust movement—which seeks to use antitrust to promote market competition—aligns with the political philosophy of republicanism and promotes two key republican ends: nondomination and self-government. The approach reduces domination by limiting the ability of corporations to act arbitrarily and makes self-government more feasible by making the economic landscape more hospitable to the production of citizens capable of republican self-government. By aligning themselves with this broader philosophical tradition, Brandeisians can counter the criticism made against them that they are part of a frivolous movement that fetishizes smallness for its own sake. I also argue that the Brandeisian and republican approach to antitrust is better suited to identifying the harms of internet monopolies, which are more likely to arise naturally through network effects than past monopolies, thus giving both republicanism and the Brandeisian approach a renewed purpose in the current economic landscape.