ABSTRACT
In this chapter, the author gives an overview of the competition laws of ancient and pre-modern times followed by an in-depth look at the history of the development competition laws and their contents in the three major industrialized regions of the United States, the European Union, and Japan. The author highlights some of the commonalities that the competition laws of these economies have and raises the question as to why, despite the commonalities of interests that consumers have regardless of where they are located of wanting to obtain the highest quality of goods and services at the lowest possible prices, states are not able to come to an agreement on having a global competition policy or law that would work in bringing uniformity and consistency in the behavior of states on the aspect of protecting competition and consumer welfare. Following on from this question, the author provides a hypothesis that will set the compass for the following chapters, that is, states are fundamentally driven in their behavior by their national interests. Accordingly, whether or not states cooperate in the international arena on competition law enforcement or in creating a global competition law is largely a political question that will be determined by the extent to which states are able to restrain their pursuit of advancing national self-interests in favor of the broader goal of achieving greater global consumer welfare.
