The Great Leveler

“[An] insightful historical work on the economic functions of law… This is a tremendous and important scholarly work. The choice of three periods and two complementary kinds of competition (or monopoly) law is inspired and provides seriously insightful analysis of the contrasting dynamics of competition and monopoly at the level of the corporate form, market price formation, and abuse of market power.”—Bob Jessop, Antipode

“Thoroughly researched and engagingly written… This is a rich and significant monograph, which any economic geographer, and many others beside, should read.”—Eric Sheppard, Economic Geography

“As a work of political economy, The Great Leveler makes a provocative and compelling case for the law as an essential historical actor. This highly readable book challenges historians of business, economics, and capitalism to consider the pivotal role of competition law and expand their conceptions of what capitalism is and how it has been reproduced over time.”—Benjamin C. Waterhouse, Enterprise & Society

“[A] compelling combination of analysis and historical detail… The Great Leveler is an important contribution to understanding some of the most acute modern policy—and political—questions.”—Diane Coyle, The Enlightened Economist

“The Great Leveler is a brilliant rethinking of a century and a half of U.S. and English economic history. It is a must read for all scholars of political economy. Focusing on the dialectic between monopoly and competition, Christophers uncovers four alternating periods that are characterized either by too much or too little competition. He sees the period from 1975 to the present as one of runaway monopolization, and questions whether national legal systems still have the power and authority to play a critical balancing role.”—Fred Block, University of California, Davis

“The book does a masterful job of weaving a rich skein of a complex whole (capitalism and its movement through time and space) into an accessible and convincing narrative.”—Susan K. Sell, George Washington University