# There’s Nothing Standard about Standard Oil: Lessons for Modern Antitrusters

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Text version: https://stenobird.com/podcast/unintended-consequences-6333409/there-s-nothing-standard-about-standard-oil-lessons-for-modern-antitrusters.md
Podcast: [Unintended Consequences](https://stenobird.com/podcast/unintended-consequences-6333409)
Published: 2025-09-11T12:00:00+00:00
Episode link: https://www.cato.org/multimedia/unintended-consequences/theres-nothing-standard-about-standard-oil-lessons-modern
Audio file: https://sphinx.acast.com/p/open/s/643947a1309d10001195d3e7/e/68c1a0b01f1b04aa32e58088/media.mp3
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Duration seconds: 1986

## Resource

The standard, classroom story about the history of antitrust starts with crusading progressive activists breaking up the Standard Oil trust in 1911 to save consumers from corporate greed. But a closer look at the case shows something rather different: a story about anti-competitive rent-seeking hidden in the guise of fighting for the little guy. Peter and Paul discuss William Shughart’s  Regulation  article “Reappreaising  Standard Oil ” and then apply what they learn to contemporary antitrust cases like  Epic Games v Apple . In conjunction with Regulation Magazine Summer 2025 edition. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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## Transcript

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