W hen I talk to people about how government regulation often benefits big businesses at the expense of smaller competitors, folks often point to antitrust laws as a counterargument: surely these anti-monopoly and anti-cartel laws keep corporate behemoths in check and protect the little guy by promoting competition, right?

Not exactly. Antitrust laws are often little more than a tool for one big business to damage or exploit another, inviting the government to come in and pick winners and losers. The current scuffle over credit card fees — into which Congress and federal courts have now been roped — demonstrates this dynamic aptly.