Today antitrust law shapes the policy of almost every large company no matterwhere headquartered. But this wasnt always the case. Before World War II thelaws of... » 

Today antitrust law shapes the policy of almost every large company no matterwhere headquartered. But this wasnt always the case. Before World War II thelaws of most industrial countries tolerated and even encouraged cartelswhereas American statutes banned them. In the wake of World War II the UnitedStates devoted considerable resources to building a liberal economic orderwhich Washington believed was necessary to preserving not only prosperity butalso peace after the war. Antitrust was a cornerstone of that policy. Thisfascinating book shows how the United States sought to impose and with whatresults its antitrust policy on other nations especially in Europe andJapan.Wyatt Wells chronicles how the attack on cartels and monopoly abroad affectedeverything from energy policy and trade negotiations to the occupation ofGermany and Japan. He shows how a small group of zealots led by Thurman Arnoldwho became head of the Justice Departments Antitrust Division in 1938targeted cartels and large companies throughout the world IG Farben ofGermany Mitsui and Mitsubishi of Japan Imperial Chemical Industries ofBritain Philips of the Netherlands DuPont and General Electric of the UnitedStates and more. Wells brilliantly shows how subsequently the architects ofthe postwar economy notably Lucius Clay John McCloy William Clayton JeanMonnet and Ludwig Erhard uncoupled political ideology from antitrustpolicy transforming Arnolds effort into a means to promote businessefficiency and encourage competition. «