Competition, Trade, and the Antitrust Division: 1981

One of the primary purposes-some would say the primary pur- pose--of antitrust laws is to promote efficient allocation of resources and maximum consumer choice by preventing and punishing artificial barriers to competition and unreasonable restraints of trade.' The An- titrust Division of the U.S. Department of Justice has therefore con- cerned itself with the task of breaking down those barriers. In the domestic field, this policy has traditionally taken the form of prosecut- ing persons and corporations who engage in price fixing or market divi- sion, or who obtain or maintain monopoly power by means of abusive practices. More recently, the Antitrust Division, while continuing its attack on private restraints, has opened a second front by seeking to narrow the scope of, or to abolish government regulations which em- body or facilitate restrictions on competition.