ABSTRACT
This chapter aims to reject, in large measure, the Naderist critique of Federal Trade Commission (FTC) activities and to demonstrate both the political courage and the broadening of agency position prior to 1968 when the Nader group investigated and condemned the commission. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) was accused of involvement with the trivial, but what appeared to some to be triviality was actually the defense and protection of small business, which surely did not consider its affairs to be trivial. The FTC emphasis shifted from small business to consumerism as consumerism came to the fore with the burgeoning of the antiwar movement late in the decade. The FTC, by appointment and appropriation, is part of the democratic electoral process. The FTC's actual position in the regulatory scheme was made explicit in November of 1967 when the agency was authorized by the House Judiciary Committee to begin a comprehensive investigation of the automobile insurance industry.
