In Praise of Rules-Based Antitrust

The rule of reason is a useless analytical tool for determining whether a method of competition violates the antitrust laws. Comprehensive empirical reviews of antitrust cases have confirmed the stark reality that the rule of reason is a vacuous form of analysis that abrogates essential aspects of the antitrust laws and equates to de facto legality for many violations. This Article calls for the ineffective rule of reason to be abandoned and bright-line rules, whose per se rules and presumptive