Friday, October 31, 2008

Constitutionalism in China in the Past 100 Years and Its Future, Conference Paper Abstract

I recently participated in an excellent conference: "Constitutionalism in China in the Past 100 Years and Its Future," (中國立憲100周年及中國憲政的未來) sponsored by the Centre for Chinese and Comparative Law (RCCL) School of Law, City University of Hong Kong (香港城市大學法律學院、中國法與比較法研究中心), Hong Kong, China, and its director Dr. Prof. Lin Feng on October 17, 2008. My thanks to Dr. Lin for putting together an excellent conference.

The conference had many superb speakers who contributed greatly to the production of knowledge about the development of Chinese constitutionalism from a perspective less often aired in the West. Many of the papers presented will be published in the Journal of Chinese and Comparative Law. The following was the program for that conference:

Programme (會議日程)
17 October 2008 (Friday)
二零零八年十月十七日 (星期五)
Opening Session: 9:15 - 9:30 am
Registration 登記
9:30 – 10:00 am Opening Session : 開幕儀式 :
Professor Wang Guiguo Dean, School of Law, City University of Hong Kong: 王貴國教授
城市大學法律學院院長
Professor Han Dayuan, Chairman of Chinese Constitutional Law Association: 韓大元教授
中國法學會憲法研究會會長

17 October 2008 (Friday): 二零零八年十月十七日 (星期五)
10:30 am - 12:20 pm
First Session : 第一節 :
Chair 主席:Professor Albert Chen 陳弘毅教授
Theme 主題: Constitutionalism in China (Theory and History) 中國的憲政(理論和歷史)

Panel發言人:
10:30 am - 10:50 am
Professor Yeong-Chin Su
College of Law, National Chengchi University, Chairman of National Communications Commission: 蘇永欽教授 政治大學法律系教授、國家通訊傳播委員會主任委員
Constitutional Moments in the Chinese Context 中國語境中的憲法時刻

10:50 am - 11:10 am
Professor Michael Dowdle
Visiting Professor, Singapore National University
Beyond 'Judicial Power': Exploring for Constitutionalism in 21st Century China
二十一世紀中國憲政探索

11:10 am - 11:30 am
Professor Lin Laifan, School of Law, Zhejiang University
林來梵教授 浙江大學法學院
Historical Development of the Concept of Constitutionalism with Chinese Characteristics
中國式憲政的概念發展史

Discussion 討論
11:30 am - 11:45 am
Professor Joseph Cheng, Chair Professor of Political Science, City University of Hong Kong
鄭宇碩教授 城巿大學政治科學

Commentators
評論者
11:45 am - 12:00 pm
Prof Michael Davis, Faculty of Social Sciences
Chinese University of Hong Kong


2:00 pm to 3:50 pm
Second Session : 第二節:
Chair 主席:
Prof Yogesh Tyagi Theme 主題:
Constitutionalism in China (Practice) (I): 中國的憲政(實踐)(第一部份)

Panel發言人:
2:00 pm - 2:20 pm
Professor Han Dayuan, School of Law, Renmin University
韓大元教授 中國人民大學法學院
The Concept of Basic Rights in the Context of Chinese Constitution—Its Origin and Evolvement in China
中國憲法學語境中的基本權利概念—基本權利概念在中國的起源與演變

2:20 pm - 2:40 pm
Professor Mo Jihong, Law Institute, China Academy of Social Science
莫紀宏教授 中國社會科學院法學院
Constitutional Law of China and Its Development
中國憲法及其發展

2:40 pm - 3:00 pm
Zou Pinxue, School of Law, Shenzhen University
鄒平學教授 深圳大學法學院
Opportunities and Challenges for the Constitutional Construction in Current China
當代中國憲政建設面臨的機遇和挑戰

Discussion 討論
3:00 pm - 3:15 pm
Professor Yeong-Chin Su
College of Law, National Chengchi University, Chairman of National Communications Commission 蘇永欽教授
政治大學法律系教授、國家通訊傳播委員會主任委員

Commentators 評論者
3:15 pm - 3:30 pm
Professor Hu Jinguang, School of Law, Renmin University
胡錦光教授 中國人民大學法學院


4:10 pm – 6:00 pm
Third Session :
第三節 :
Chair 主席:
Professor Anton Cooray

Theme 主題:
Constitutionalism in China (Practice) (II): 中國的憲政(實踐)(第二部份)

Panel發言人:
4:10 pm - 4:30 pm
Professor Larry Catá Backer
Professor of Law, Pennsylvania State University, Dickinson School of Law-University Park Campus
The Communist Party and the Constitutional State: A Theory of Constitutionalism and the Party-State 共產黨與憲法國家:一種憲政及黨與國家的理論

4:30 pm - 4:50 pm
Professor Fan Jinxue, School of Law, Shandong University
樊進學教授 山東大學法學院
The Development of the Ruling Party’s Constitutional Consciousness and the Future of Constitutionalism in China
執政黨的憲政修養發展與中國憲政的未來

4:50 pm - 5:10 pm
Dr Lin Feng, School of Law, City University of Hong Kong
林峰博士 城巿大學法律學院
Constitutionalism in China under the Leadership of CPC: Is it Possible?
中國在共產黨領導下走向憲政---可能嗎?

5:10 pm - 5:25 pm
Prof Xiao Beigeng, School of Law, Hunan Normal University
肖北庚教授 湖南師範大學法學院
Democracy in Consultation: New Trend in China’s Constitutional Democracy
協商民主:中國憲政民主新趨勢

Discussion 討論
5:25 pm – 5:40 pm
Prof Jean-Pierre CABESTAN
Head of Dept of International Relations, HKBU (confirmed)

Commentators 評論者
5:40 pm – 6:00 pm
Professor Tong Zhiwei, East China University of Law and Political Science
童之偉教授 華東政法大學


18 October 2008 (Saturday)
二零零八年十月十八日 (星期六)
9:00 am – 10:50 am
Fourth Session : 第四節 :
Chair 主席:
Professor Lin Laifan 林來梵教授
Theme 主題:
Constitutionalism in China (Practice): 中國的憲政(實踐)(第三部份)

Panel發言人:
9:00 am - 9:20 am
Professor Tong Zhiwei, East China University of Law and Political Science
童之偉教授 華東政法大學
Assessment of Short-term Trend in China’s Constitutional Development
中國憲制發展中短期態勢評估

9:20 am - 9:40 am
Professor Dong Heping, North-west University of Political Science and Law
董和平教授 西北政法大學
The Route and Procedure for Constitutional Reform in China
從體制內憲政微調到體制本身的憲政優化-關於中國憲政改革路徑和步驟的思考

9:40 am - 10:00 am
Professor Hu Jinguang, School of Law, Renmin University
胡錦光教授 中國人民大學法學院
Evolution and Challenge of Review of Public Authority in China
論中國對公權力審查的演進與挑戰

Discussion 討論
10:00 am - 10:15 am
Dr Zhu Guobin, School of Law, City University of Hong Kong
朱國斌博士 香港城巿大學法律學院

Commentators 評論者
10:15 am - 10:30 am
Professor Wang Dezhi, School of Law, Shandong University
王德志教授 山東大學法學院


11:00 am – 12:30 pm
Fifth Session : 第五節 :
Chair 主席:
Prof Mo Ji Hong
Theme 主題:
Comparative Study of Practice of Constitutionalism (Part I): 憲政實踐之比較研究(第一部份)

Panel發言人:
11:00 am - 11:20 am
Professor Christian W. Haerpfer, Head of the Department of Politics and International Relations King's College University of Aberdeen, United Kingdom
Democratic Transformations in Post-Communist Europe and Post-Soviet Eurasia
後共產主義歐洲及後蘇聯時期歐亞的民主轉型

11:20 am - 11:40 am
Dr Surya Deva, School of Law, City University of Hong Kong
The Right to Property in a Socialist Constitution: A Review of the Role of Indian Judiciary
社會主義憲法中的財產權:對印度司法機構作用的考查

Discussion 討論
11:40 pm - 11:55 am
Mr P Y Lo, Barrister, member of the Bar Council, Hong Kong Bar Association
羅沛然大律師 香港大律師公會

Commentators 評論者
11:55 am - 12:10 pm
Prof HP Lee, Faculty of Law, Monash University


2:00 pm – 4:00 pm
Sixth Session : 第六節 :
Chair 主席:
Prof Han Daynan
Theme 主題:
Comparative Study of Practice of Constitutionalism (Part II): 憲政實踐之比較研究(第二部份)

Panel發言人:
2:00 pm - 2:20 pm
Professor Suzuki Ken, Hokudai University, Japan
鈴木賢教授 北海道大學
Judicial Implementation of Constitutional Norms: A Comparison between Japan and China
通過司法實踐憲法的規範-從中日比較的角度出發

2:20 pm - 2:40 pm
Prof HP Lee, Faculty of Law, Monash University, Australia
The Advancement of Constitutionalism in China - Lessons From Abroad, with Particular Reference to Australia, UK, Malaysia and Singapore
中國憲政之發展--外國(尤其是澳大利亞,英國,馬來西亞及新加坡)的經驗

2:40 pm - 3:00 pm
Professor Ahl Bjorn, School of Law, City University of Hong Kong
伯陽教授 香港城巿大學法律學院
The Development of Constitutional Supremacy: German Experiences and their Relevance for China
憲政至上原則的發展:德國的經驗及與中國的關係

Discussion 討論
3:00 pm - 3:15 pm
Professor Mo Jihong, Law Institute, China Academy of Social Science
莫紀宏教授 中國社會科學院法學院

Commentators
評論者
3:15 pm - 3:30 pm
Professor Lin Laifan, School of Law, Zhejiang University
林來梵教授 浙江大學法學院


3:50 pm – 4:00 pm
Closing Remark
閉幕儀式
Prof Gu Minkang, Associate Dean, School of Law, City University of Hong Kong
顧敏康教授 城市大學法律學院


For my own contribution, I presented a paper entitled The Communist Party and the Constitutional State: A Theory of Constitutionalism and the Party-State 共產黨與憲法國家:一種憲政及黨與國家的理論. Here is the abstract in English roughly translated into Chinese (Mandarin):

ABSTRACT:
Since the establishment of the Soviet Union, constitutional theory has tended to look suspiciously at the constitutionalization of Marxist Leninist state apparatus under the control of a single party in power. There is a sense of illegitimacy, and a suggestion of the construction of sham constitutions, in regimes in which the ultimate state power is vested in an apparatus which itself is subject to the direction of an extra constitutional power, which in turn is meant to mask personal rule. With state under Party, and Party a system of leveraging personal power, the state-party system had come to be understood as a cover for tyranny and despotism, as a veil over the personal rule of an individual or a clique according to their whim and supported by the coercive power of military establishments and internal terror regimes. In this context, constitutionalism is incomprehensible. These judgments have formed the basis of analysis of Chinese constitutionalism as well, serving as the foundations for critique especially after the reforms of Deng Xiaping and his successors after 1989. But are these criticisms inevitably correct in general, and wholly applicable in the post 1989 Chinese context? This paper explores those questions, suggesting a basis for the articulation of a legitimizing constitutionalist theory for states organized on a state-party model along certain lines. Focusing on the evolution of state-party constitutionalism in China since 1989, the article first reviews the basic principles of current constitutionalism theory and its importance as a legitimating global ideology against which state organization, and the actions of state officials, are judged. The article then looks to the evolution of the party-state model of governance from its origins in 19th century European Marxist-Leninist theory to its reception in China in the 1920s, and its modern transformation “under the guidance of Marxism-Leninism, Mao Zedong Thought, Deng Xiaoping Theory and the important thought of 'Three Represents'” (PRC Constitution 2004, Preamble). Drawing from the implications of the evolution of theories of state-party constitutionalism in China, the article suggests that it is possible to theorize a state-party model of state organization that remains true to the ideals of constitutionalism grounded in the core postulate of rule of law governance. The basis of Chinese state-party constitutionalism requires a reconception of an understanding of constitution—to include both the document constituting the state and that constituting the Party as equivalent components that together form the national constitution as understood in the West. It is also based on a different understanding of the character of the Communist Party—not as a political party or as a private actor but as an integral part of the institutional structure of government, and more importantly, as the holder of political citizenship. These insights produce substantial consequences for the ways in which Chinese constitutionalism are understood and evaluated under global constitutionalist standards, which are discussed in the last section of the paper. These include the reflection of the party-state construct (1) in a division of the character of citizenship between economic and social citizenship, claimed by all persons, and political citizenship, which can be exercised through the Party, (2) in an understanding of political organization in which the state power and its institutions are subordinate to political authority, (3) in an institutionalization of political authority within a collective that serves as the source and conduit of constitutional values to be applied by the holders of state authority, and (4) in a system in which Party elaboration of rule of law values is contingent on state and party self discipline. Chinese constitutionalism, understood as state and party constitutionalism can, together, serve as a basis for understanding the way in which rule of law governance is legitimately possible where the disciplinary focus of constitutional duty is focused, not primarily on the state apparatus, but instead centers on the Party apparatus. Rule of law constitutionalism in China, then, is better understood as state-party constitutionalism, with a necessary focus on party rather than state. But thus constructed, even state-party systems can claim a certain legitimacy as a constitutionalist system—though one whose substantive values are inconsistent with those of secular transnationalist constitutionalist states. This is constitutionalism with Chinese characteristics.

摘要:
自 前苏联 成立以来,宪政理论始终试图以怀疑的目光审视一党专政之下的马克思列宁主义国家政权。当国家的最高权力被授予某一个机构,而这个机构受制于一种超越宪法的外力,并且这种外力意味着个人统治的面具,这时,这个国家的宪法被认为是不合法并且是虚伪的。当国家受制于政党,而政党成为个人权力博弈的平台,那么这种“党国”体系逐渐被理解为专制与暴政的傀儡、个人或小集团统治的面纱。这样的“党国”体系由暴力机关和内部恐怖机构的强制力支持着,依照个人或小集团反复无常的念头统治着国家。在这种背景下,宪政是不可理解的。同样的,这些评判形成了分析中国宪政的基础。特别是在看待邓小平和他1989年以后的继任者们的改革方面,这些评判已作为批评中国宪政的基础理论。然而,这些批评成立、并且普遍适用于1989年之后的中国社会现实吗?本文将探讨这些问题,并提出一种理论基础——遵循一定的路线,如何使建立在“党国”模式之上的国家的宪政法制化。本文关注中国1989年之后的“党国”宪政的演进,并首先回顾现代宪政理论的基本原则,以及它作为评判国家组织形式、政府官员行为的国际意识形态标准的重要性。接下来,本文将目光投向“党国”模式的演进——从它的源头,十九世纪欧洲的马克思列宁主义思想,到它被二十世界二十年代的中国接受,再到它在当今中国“马列主义毛泽东思想、邓小平理论以及三个代表重要思想引导下” (2004年中华人民共和国宪法,序言)发生的转变。根据这样的演进,本文指出,在理论上构建一个以依法治国为基础的“党国”模式的政权,并不悖宪政原则,是可行的。中国的“党国”宪政理论需要重新定义宪法——这样的宪法需要囊括组织国家政权的文件,同时也囊括组织一个平行与国家权力的政党的文件。这同样建立在对于共产党属性的不同理解上——不是一个政党或私人行为者,而是政府结构的内部组成部分,更重要的是,作为政治公民权的持有人。本文最后将使用全球的宪政标准来衡量中国的宪政,并依据以上观点得出结论。这些包括对于“党国”结构的思考:(1)划分不同的公民权—— 不同于社会公民与经济公民权,政治公民权由政党来支配;(2)国家权力和制度从属于政治权威;(3)多党制被作为实现宪政价值的资源与渠道;(4)在这个体制中,法制依靠国家于党的自律。中国的宪政,作为“党国”的宪政,可以用来理解依法治国。在这样的依法治国概念中,宪政约束的重点不是国家机器,而是政党组织。由此,中国的宪政法制,应当理解为“党国”的宪政。从而,“党国”体系可以被称为一种合法的宪政体系,虽然它的实质价值有别世俗的、国际的宪政。这就是有中国特色的宪政。

A working draft of the paper will be posted soon.

Guest Essay: Professor S. Beth Farmer on Competition Law

My colleague, Professor S. Beth Farmer, has recently written an excellent and provocative essay on competition law. Professor Farmer has graciously permitted me to post the essay here. She will present this essay at an important competition law conference, the Korean Competition Law Association--International Conference, held in Seoul, Republic of Korea November 7, 2008.

The essay is copyright S. Beth Farmer. All rights, including moral rights, reserved to the holder thereof. Please contact Professor Farmer for permissions to reproduce other than as otherwise permitted by law.

References in the essay are to end notes that follow the text of the essay below.

Professor Farmer may be contacted via e-mail at sbf2@psu.edu.


The McCarran-Ferguson Exemption from the United States Antitrust Laws Recent Developments
Susan Beth Farmer
Professor of Law Pennsylvania State University
Dickinson Law School1

Introduction

The McCarran-Ferguson Act provides a limited exemption from the American federal antitrust laws. It is a complex and controversial doctrine that seeks to chart an appropriate balance between competition and the need of firms in the insurance industry to share information that may be competitively sensitive yet allow the firms to provide better services to their customers. Effective antitrust enforcement and information exchanges among competitors may, depending on the circumstances, promote consumer welfare. Consumer welfare is generally recognized as the touchstone and dominant goal of competition laws and enforcement.

Additionally, the analysis contemplated by the statutory scheme directly implicates the allocation of competence between the federal and state governments. Thus, the allocation of power and deference is at the center of this doctrine and issues of federalism predominate. This facet of the American political system is relevant for other jurisdiction whethersimilar antitrust exemptions are necessary in their circumstances.

Therefore, in analyzing the McCarran-Ferguson Act, this paper starts from the perspective that the competitive process usually promotes consumer welfare in the form of increased output and lower prices, allocative efficiency and may serve distributive goals. Regulation is appropriate to deal with market failures, true natural monopolies or to advance social welfare. Antitrust “exemptions should be made only where ‘compelling evidence of the unworkability of competition or a clearly paramount social purpose’ exists, and any exemptions should use the ‘least anti-competitive method of achieving the regulatory objective.’”2 This paper will discuss recent developments in McCarran Ferguson law and policy in four areas:

First, there has been considerable debate among the antitrust bar, the insurance industry, enforcement agencies and consumer representatives on the merits and potential competitive risks of the McCarran exemption. The American Bar Association has long proposed a compromise position to replace the existing exemption, but this proposal, too, has never been adopted. The Antitrust Modernization Commission held extensive hearings on all aspects of substantive antitrust doctrine and enforcement, including exemptions and antitrust immunity, and issued a report warning against excessive exemptions, but not recommending specific reform or repeal of the McCarran-Ferguson Act. The National Association of Attorneys General also opposes industry-specific legislation that would weaken antitrust enforcement, and therefore supports a complete repeal of the McCarran Ferguson exemption for the insurance industry. National consumer groups join in recommending total repeal, while the insurance industry supports a strong exemption. Finally, some have approached the federalism question directly and urge repeal of McCarran and substitution of federal, not state, regulation of the insurance industry and ultimate pre-emption of federal antitrust laws in deference of a national regulatory scheme.

Secondly, Congressional hearings have contributed to the debate. Several bills have been introduced and various committees have held periodic hearings, but no legislation has been adopted by the United States Congress. The general trend of proposed legislation began with recommendations to modifythe scope of the immunity, then moved towards complete repeal of the exemption and now include some calls for repeal and permissive federalization of insurance regulation.

Third, there have been few recent Supreme Court cases but many, and conflicting cases from lower federal and state courts. The overall effect of these cases has been to complicate the already complex state of the law. To the extent that the McCarran-Ferguson was designed to clarify the balance of state and federal power to regulate and to set a clear substantive standard, the project has failed.

Fourth, antitrust immunity is generally discouraged by international policy groups including the International Competition Network and OECD. However, a version of the American immunity covering information exchanges among firms in the insurance industry is currently the subject of a block exemption of the European Commission., which is due to sunset in 2010 unless extended. As part of its oversight responsibilities, the European Commission enforcement agency, DG Comp, conducted a sector inquiry into the insurance sector and opened a public consultation into the need for the block exemption. DG Comp concluded, as a preliminary matter, that claims for the block exemption are unpersuasive, and is inclined to allow the block exemption to expire and rely on the general competition rules to protect necessary and pro-competitive activities in the business of insurance.

Thus, the future of American McCarran-Ferguson Act and review of similar exemptions by other jurisdictions implicates important issues of substantive antitrust law and policy, legislative priorities, federalism concerns, and international harmonization.

The Debate and Commentary: Pro and Anti-Competitive Effects3

The McCarran-Ferguson Act provides an absolute exemption from the federal antitrust liability for activities that meet three conditions: (1) the conduct must be the “business of insurance,” (2) it must be “regulated” by State law, and (3) it must not “consist of boycott, coercion or intimidation.”4 In an act of reverse preemption, the McCarran-Ferguson Act also provides that State laws regulating the business of insurance preempt any other federal law unless it (that federal law) relates specifically to the business of insurance.

As Prof. Bauer has described, the McCarran-Ferguson Act was a direct response by Congress to a decision of the United States Supreme Court explicitly holding that the insurance industry and its various activities were conducted in interstate commerce and therefore affirmatively subject to the prohibitions of federal antitrust law.5 Thus, the McCarran-Ferguson constitutes an important alteration of the shape of American antitrust law, which has been identified as the “Magna Carta of free enterprise”6 and dedicated to protecting competition and the competitive process over the individual competitors.

American antitrust analysis has evolved since the McCarran exemption was thought to be necessaryto protect the insurance industryand permit it to serve its customers without fear of overzealous antitrust enforcement. By the time McCarran was adopted in 1945, the Supreme Court had created per se rules against horizontal price fixing, market allocation, boycotts, vertical resale price maintenance, and tying arrangements. Interference with market prices was a particular concern and “price fixing” was defined broadly to include uniform prices, maximum or minimum prices, and market manipulation. “Prices are fixed because they are agreed upon,” said the Supreme Court in the Socony-Vacuum case, and a conspiracy “formedfor the purpose ... of raising, depressing, fixing, pegging, or stabilizing the price ... is illegal per se.”7

Agreements among competitors to merely exchange information were also risky, depending on the kind of information, the participants and the use of the data. Sharing information may literally constitute price fixing, it may facilitate price fixing, or it may be necessary to create a new product and satisfy consumer demand. The important issue in each situation is whether there was an agreement, express or implied, to restrain trade. Direct exchanges of current or future prices between competitors themselves is most competitively risky, especially in concentrated industries, and Supreme Court opinions suggested that such exchanges could be per se illegal. Since the insurance sector relies on data collection and dissemination, standard setting and other joint activities, potential antitrust challenges were perceived as a threat to the industry.

The shock to the insurance industry finding itself subject to these rigid antitrust standards by the operation of Constitutional jurisprudence must have been extreme. As discussed above, the business of insurance had a long relationship with state regulatory systems and a felt need to share statistics and data as part of standard business practice. This customary business practice was abruptly called into question by the South-Eastern Underwriters case, and the obvious solution would have been to return to prior practice by granting an antitrust exemption and leaving State regulation in place.

Modern antitrust analysis has developed since the original enunciation of strict per se rules in cases involving horizontal agreements. This evolution began when the Supreme Court refused to per se condemn a technical horizontal price fixing agreement that efficiently created a new product demanded by consumers.8 While per se condemnation remains appropriate for naked cartel behavior, the modern analysis is based more on actual competitive effects of an agreement than rigid categories. This standard was perhaps best expressed by Justice Breyer, concurring in the California Dental case, as follows: “(1) What is the specific restraint at issue? (2) What are its likely anticompetitive effects? (3) Are there offsetting procompetitive justifications? (4) Do the parties have sufficient market power to make a difference?”9

Modern understandingof the risks and benefits of data dissemination has also evolved since the early cases. Specific facts about the particular information and circumstances of the exchange are highly relevant: it is less competitively sensitive if a third party collects and disseminates the data, it contains historical rather than current or future prices, it is aggregated rather than identified by firm, and there is a legitimate procompetitive purpose for the exchange.10 Modern antitrust interpretation is clear: the exchange of information is not a per se violation of the antitrust laws in itself and all of the facts should be evaluated under the rule of reason.11

At the end of the day, then, modern antitrust analysis has largely evolved to the point where most of the procompetitive data collection and standard-setting of the business of insurance would be justified under the modern rule of reason. Effective State regulation that mandated and actively supervised other, potentially problematic behavior, would be protected by the State Action doctrine. The issue for legislators and interest groups is whether or not a special exemption for the business of insurance remains necessary.

Antitrust and economic commentators have largely concluded that market competition tends to produce better economic and social outcomes than regulation by any level of government. Congress has the raw power to limit the federal antitrust laws by adopting exemptions and granting immunity in particular cases, to particular industries, or based on general principles. However, since immunities and antitrust exemptions permit firms to conspire unchecked by antitrust enforcement and in the face of ineffective regulation, they should be adopted only when necessary. Congress should examine the evidence proving that an exemption is necessary and then determine whether, on balance, the exemption will protect consumer welfare and threaten less harm than competition and antitrust enforcement against illegal activities. If Congress concludes that a particular industry or market is not amenable to competition, then the traditional solution is regulation. When regulation is necessary to deal with market failures or natural monopolies, it should be efficient, effective, and carried out by the appropriate level of government.

The views of State antitrust enforcers, consumer protection groups, insurer representatives, the American Bar Association and the Antitrust Modernization Commission (AMC) on the continued need for the McCarran-Ferguson exemption appear to diverge. The States and consumer groups support repeal of the exemption, the ABA recommends a new federal law protecting safe harbors, and the AMC generally disapproves of industry-specific exemptions. However,all of their policy positions converge on key points:

* competition in the form of effective antitrust enforcement has been critical to the success of the American market economy;

* Congress may displace market competition by creating antitrust exemptions and immunities but should do so only when convinced that the market cannot not work and regulation is the best ways to achieve consumer welfare goals, but regulation is a second best solution;

* Congress has the authority under the Commerce Clause to preempt State regulation and should exercise that power after consideration of issues of federalism;

* special antitrust exemptions for specific industries are disfavored and should only be granted when necessary, should be limited, and should interfere with competition as little as possible;

* sharing of certain data, standard setting and development of standard forms, forming joint
underwriting associations and other cooperative behavior may be important for the business of insurance and in the public interest. It is subject to the antitrust rule or reason;

* antitrust analysis should consider the likely procompetitive benefits and anticompetitive risks in appraising cooperative behavior in the insurance industry, and predictability and certainty are a relevant considerations.

Federal Legislative Developments

Although antitrust exemptions have generally been criticized, there has been no consensus strong enough to repeal or significantly modify the McCarran-Ferguson Act in the 63 years since its adoption. Efforts to clarify the scope of the immunity began in the 1990s, and ultimately involved multilateral negotiations including some segments of the insurance industry and national consumer protection groups. The goal was modest, neither total repeal nor strengthening of the immunity provisions. The draft legislation that emerged from the multi-party negotiations, H.R. 9, would have substituted a list of safe harbors for the poorly defined McCarran-Ferguson exemption. It was opposed by other segments of the insurance industry, notably small firms, that were concerned that the safe harbors were insufficient protection and put small firms at a disadvantage compared to large companies. The House Judiciary Committee passed and favorably reported the bill, but no further action was taken and the bill failed to pass.12

More than a decade later, safe harbor bills modeled after H.R. 9 and a variety of other approaches to deal with competitive problems in the insurance industryhave been introduced in the House and Senate. Several of these recent initiatives have been broader, proposing respectively, complete repeal of the antitrust exemption or repeal and substitution of federal regulation. The antitrust repealer is found in a pair of bills introduced in 2007 and sent to the Senate and House Judiciary Committees for consideration. Senate Bill 681 and H.R. 1081 would completely repeal the antitrust exemption but retain the reverse preemption language of Congressional deference to State laws that regulate the business of insurance. These bills would leave the insurance industry in the same position as other American industries withrespect to antitrust enforcement: the antitrust laws do not preempt state law. States may protect private firms from antitrust liability under the State Action Doctrine if the State affirmatively expresses the will to do so and actively supervises the activity.

Senate bill S. 1525, provides limited immunity for medical malpractice insurance but not if the firms engaged in bid rigging, price fixing or market allocation, which are among the most serious kinds of anticompetitive conspiracies.13 Another modified repeal bill, the Insurance Competitive Pricing Act of 2005, H.R. 2401, would maintain an exemption from the federal antitrust laws for activities in the business of insurance regulated by State law except for price fixing, market allocation, tying arrangements, or monopolization. These new exclusions from the exemption are much broader than the current McCarran exclusion for boycott, coercion and intimidation, which remains in the proposed bills. The list of non-exempt activities nearly swallows the exemption, apparently covering every antitrust violation except, possibly, non-price vertical restraints and mergers, so the bill amounts to a repeal or the exemption. Senate bill 2401 additionally carves out three safe harbors; areas in which covered insurers may engage in collective action and be exempt from antitrust enforcement. The safe harbors resemble the ABA list of recommended information sharing practices: collecting and distributing historical loss data, making loss development factors based on historical data, performing actuarial services that do not restrain trade. Agreement on trend factors is specifically excluded from otherwise permitted information exchange and data manipulation.14

Finally, S. 2509 is makes the most radical and far-reaching changes to the current regulatory situation. This approach would take back insurance regulation from the States, offer an optional national regulatory system, and eliminate federal antitrust immunity.15 This approach is premised on the view that the modern insurance industry is truly interstate (if not global) in nature and therefore continued State regulation is inefficient and ineffective. The co-sponsors, writing in the Wall Street Journal on Sept. 23, 2008, warned that “[l]etting this 19th-century regulatory model govern a 21st-century global marketplace” is dangerously fragmented and risky for insurance consumers, shareholders and the financial system itself. Citing the recent failure of AIG, the Senators and Representatives who co-sponsored S. 2509 and a companion House bill, warn that individual State regulators cannot competently oversee firms that cross State and national borders. For example, AIG had 209 subsidiaries, but only12 were within the jurisdiction of New York state regulators. New York’s power was too weak to reach the entire company, it failed, and the failure of AIG resulted in an $85 billion federal bailout.16 The bills would permit, but not require, insurers to vacate their State charters and be re-chartered as a National Insurer, National Agency or “federally licensed insurance producer.” These new national entities would be subject to uniform federal regulation in the form of a Commission of National Insurance, more completely defined in the proposed legislation. All State regulation, including “licensing, examination, reporting, regulation, or other supervision relating to the sale, solicitation, or negotiation of insurance, to the underwriting of insurance, or to any other insurance operations” would be eliminated. As a consequence of ending State oversight, the national entities would lose their antitrust exemption under the McCarran Ferguson Act except for an important safe harbor. The new exemption would protect:

the development, dissemination, or use of standard insurance policy forms (including standard endorsements, addendums, and policy language), or to activities incidental thereto, by National Insurers, National Agencies, and federally licensed insurance producers.17
The Senate Judiciary Committee held a hearing on S. 2401 and the more limited S. 1525, and heard testimony from half a dozen representatives from a variety of interest groups. Not surprisingly, representatives from American Insurance Association, Insurance Services Office, and National Association of Insurance Commissioners opposed repeal of the McCarran-Ferguson immunity and described the necessity for legal certainty, benefits of information exchange and value of state regulation. A representative of the American Bar Association recommended repeal of the exemption and substitution of a set of safe harbors in accord with the longstanding ABA policy. Finally, a representative of a State antitrust enforcement bureau, the New York Attorney General’s Office, and the insurance specialist of the Consumer Federation of America recommended complete repeal of the McCarran-Ferguson Act and reliance, if necessary, on the state action doctrine to protect legitimate activities in the insurance industry.18

Efforts to repeal or modifythe McCarran-Ferguson antitrust exemption have been sporadic and ineffective in the 63 years since its adoption. However, the modest flurry of recent activity, including Committee hearings, suggests that federal legislation may again move to the fore. The fear of expansive antitrust interpretation that motivated the original exemption should be lessened by three developments. First, modern antitrust law treats most information exchanges and procompetitive horizontal agreements under the rule of reason so it should not chill necessary coordinated activity; second, private acts done pursuant to an affirmatively expressed and actively supervised State program of regulation is protected bythe State Action doctrine ; and third, the Noerr Pennington doctrine exempts acts of government petitioning. Finally, the ongoing financial crisis may encourage Congress to review the balance of federal and state authority in the business of insurance. Congress may, under the Commerce Clause, choose to preempt any State activity in a field and the evolution of the business of insurance from a local to an international industry may persuade Congress that the balance should be realigned in the federal favor.

Judicial Developments

The text of the McCarran-Ferguson Act establishes two different exemptions from federal regulation: section 2(a) and the first clause of section 2(b) deals with both classic and reverse preemption, while the second clause of 2(b), following “Provided,” is a classic preemption provision dealing only with antitrust law. This latter provision is the antitrust immunity provision. These sections are related and use common terms and concepts (“business of insurance, “regulated by the State”) but arise in different legal contexts. The first, or classic and reverse preemption, issue is the subject of the vast majority of modern cases, while the antitrust immunity provision arises relatively less frequently. To the extent that American courts disagree as to the proper interpretation of the common concepts, the result will be confusion in the meaning of both.

Under the Supremacy Clause of Article VI of the Constitution, Congress has the power to enact federal laws that override and preempt State statutes. Such preemption may be express, by explicit language in a federal statute, or implied, where the State and federal statutory schemes conflict irreconcilably.19 In addition, Congress may create a comprehensive system of federal regulation that completely occupies the field and ousts State law and regulation. These comprehensive federal regulatory schemes preempt the States from legislating in the field, even if particular State laws do not conflict with federal law or policy.20 It has long been recognized, however, that federal antitrust laws were not intended to preempt State antitrust laws, nor does federal antitrust regulation pervasively occupy the field and exclude State antitrust activity.21 Indeed, several State antitrust laws preceded the federal legislation, and members of the 1890 Congress that passed the Sherman Act envisioned the federal antitrust law as a supplement to State antitrust enforcement.

The McCarran-Ferguson Act first declares a “reverse preemption” rule, providing that States have the power to legislate and regulate in the field of insurance and, that, as a general matter, federal statutes will not preempt State laws that regulate the “business of insurance.” However, reaffirming classic preemption standards, the McCarran Act then provides that a federal statute which “specifically relates to the business of insurance” does preempt the State law on the same subject. The overall effect of this section grants States wide discretion to regulate the insurance sector unless specifically trumped by federal law concerning the sector. Congress chose not to legislate to the full extent of its commerce power over the business of insurance, but rather to defer to States in their regulatory role, with the option of preemption by specificf ederal statute in the insurance field. This section of the McCarran Act does not address the applicability of federal antitrust law to the insurance industry. First, the Sherman, Clayton and Federal Trade Commission Acts do not “specifically” relate to insurance or any other industry. Moreover, the Supreme Court has long held that the federal antitrust laws were not intended to, and do not, preempt state law.

Recent cases on the McCarran-Ferguson Act fall into two categories: first, as introduced by Prof. Bauer, many claim immunity from the federal antitrust laws under section 2(b) of the McCarran Act. Second, the majority of recent cases involve claims of “reverse preemption,” in which parties attempt to use the McCarran Act to have other, non-antitrust federal law claims dismissed in favor of State law.

The antitrust immunity found in the second clause of section 2(b), which effectively operates as preemption and a clawback provision: the federal antitrust laws are applicable to the business of insurance only to the extent that the business of insurance is not regulated by the states. Thus, Congress may specifically regulate insurance, and preempt state laws governing the insurance sector. If, however, the States are regulating the business of insurance, the federal antitrust laws are reverse preempted by State regulation. The antitrust exemption legislates in the negative, providing that the insurance sector is subject to federal antitrust law only if the State has chosen not to regulate. This exemption also contains a savings clause: though the Act grants an antitrust exemption, that exemption does not cover substantive antitrust violations of boycott, coercion or intimidation.

In short, Congress may choose to federalize the field and regulate the insurance industry in whole or in part. If Congress acts in such a manner, it must do so “specifically.” Congressional power to do so is clear: Congress has the authority under the Commerce Clause to legislate. Interpretation of the Commerce Clause has evolved significantly during the 20th century and that realignment of federal and State power led directly to enactment of the McCarran-Ferguson Act. Originally construed narrowly by the Supreme Court, even insurance was held not to constitute commerce, therefore States were free to legislate on the business of insurance unhampered by federal preemption.22 By the time of the South-Eastern Underwriters case in 1944, the definition of “commerce” was expanding, and it finally reached its apex in cases finding the Civil Rights Act of 1964 constitutional as a proper exercise of Congressional power under the Commerce Clause,23 before being restricted again in the 1990s.24 Even modern Constitutional jurisprudence would, however, recognize that the business of insurance is an activity in commerce and subject to federal regulation.

The McCarran-Ferguson Act anticipated this development and reserved for the federal government the power to oust state regulation of insurance entirely. If Congress did so, State regulation would be preempted and the antitrust exemption would evaporate (the business of insurance is exempt from the antitrust laws only “to the extent that such business is ... regulated by State law.”

The Act is not a model of clarity and uses the term of art “the business of insurance” three times and “such business” twice in section 2, and refers to State “regulation” twice, but fails to define these crucial terms. Therefore, it is left to the courts to define, explain the reach and limits of a convoluted statute, and seek to follow the Congressional will in allocating state and federal power.

The “business of insurance” has been litigated both in reverse preemption and the antitrust immunity contexts. In the antitrust immunity context, the term is interpreted broadly. Courts continue to employ the three-part Royal Drugand Pireno tests to define“business of insurance,” but recent cases have not added additional analytic content to the statement of the factors.25 Therefore, lower courts must determine, on a case-by-case basis, whether or not challenged activity constitutes the business of insurance, considering whether (1) the activity involves underwriting or spreading of risk, (2) it involved a relationship between the insurer and policy holder, and (3) the activity involves entities within the insurance industry. (3) whether the conduct is limited to activities between entities within the insurance industry. Writing standard form contracts and agreements, as well as refusals to deal except on those contracts is “the business of insurance.” Dealings with joint underwriting organizations, whether referral or concerted refusals not serve outside the JUA, constitute the business of insurance. Workers’ compensation rating organizations, health maintenance organizations and health-maintenance look-alike programs are all entities in the business of insurance. On the other hand, arranging third party services has been held not to be the business of insurance. Federal courts have held that the “business of insurance” includes rate setting, marketing and pricing, but not steering, bid rigging or bank-issued debt cancellation contracts.

The extent of the “business of insurance” also arises in non-antitrust reverse preemption cases. In this context, the defendants typicallyargue that the federal regulation does not relate to the business of insurance, so should be preempted in favor of state law. State anti-arbitral provisions have been used to reverse preempt a federal arbitration act in one federal court but an international arbitration treaty did not in others.26 Continued confusion or conflict among the courts in defining the “business of insurance” reduces certainty and predictability, and could adversely affect procompetitive information sharing and other joint activities in the insurance sector.

Federal laws may regulate the business of insurance unless they “invalidate, impair, or supersede” State laws in the sector. If the federal law has that prohibited effect, then the state laws regulating the business of insurance reverse preempt federal non-antitrust law. The United States Supreme Court recently defined the standard for “interference” with a two-part test: (1) there must be a direct conflict between federal and State law and (2) the federal law must frustrate or interfere with the State policy or administration.27 The Supreme Court permitted RICO claims against insurance companies because there is no direct conflict and the federal remedy does not impair the State remedial scheme.28 Lower federal courts have held applied this standard to hold that a federal prosecution of an insurance executive for health care fraud was not reverse preempted by Oklahoma’s insurance regulations because there were no direct conflicts between State and federal criminal laws, and federal banking laws permitted banks to sell insurance though State laws prohibited such sales29 The Humana standard gives Congress more power to interfere with State insurance regulation and limits the reverse preemption effect. This relatively robust standard could bleed into the antitrust immunity section of McCarran and require State regulation to be active and substantive in order to protect the insurance sector from federal antitrust liability.

Comparative Competition Law: the Status of Specific Immunity for the Insurance Sector

The European Union, now comprising 27 Member States, was founded as a European Community, creating a common market, by the Treaty of Rome in 1957. Competition policy was recognized in the founding documents as central to the success of the European project and the antitrust provisions, Articles 81 and 82, have been interpreted generally consistently with the American antitrust laws. Although some commentators dispute whether it is a true federal system, the EU maintains similar allocation of power between the central and national state governments, each with respective areas of competence. Competition law enforcement had originally been the province of the Commission, which had exclusive authority to investigate and enforce the competition articles of the Treaty, promote liberalization of regulated industries and enforce the Treaty articles limiting State Aid. The Directorate General for Competition of the European Commission (DG Comp) reformed its enforcement system in 2003, and now authorizes national enforcement agencies to enforce, and national courts to apply, the EU competition articles as well as national antitrust laws.30 DG Comp is also responsible for investigating economic sectors to determine their competitive strength and granting block exemptions under the competition statutes. The structure of Article 81, concerning agreements, resembles an American rule of reason analysis (with some important European characteristics). First, the Commission must determine under Article 81(1) whether the agreement is “caught” or covered by the prohibitions of the statute, and then whether the agreement is exempt under Article 81(3) because the competitive benefits outweigh the threatened harms.

There was never any serious question whether the European competition laws apply fully to the business of insurance. The Commission stated in its Second Report on Competition Policy, 1972, that the insurance sector was covered by the full range of EU antitrust laws and rejected objections that the industry was not suited to competition and would devolve into destructive competition leading to failures and insolvency. The critical prerequisite for application of Article 81 is that the agreement affect trade between EU member states, so European courts never considered whether “the business of insurance” operates “in commerce” or whether the Commission had competence to enforce in the sector. The answer is clearly in the affirmative.

However, as discussed above, the business of insurance has certain characteristics that require special consideration in antitrust analysis. Recognizing these special needs, the Commission granted two individual exemptions in 1990, to permit insurance industry cooperation and then granted a block exemption for the entire industry in 1992. That exemption expired in 2003, and was replaced with another block exemption that will expire in 2010, ifnot renewed. The McCarran-Ferguson Act, by comparison, does not have an expiration date and was adopted by the national legislature rather than the federal antitrust enforcement agencies, the Department of Justice and Federal Trade Commission.

The current block exemption for insurance (BER) followed a Commission determination that cooperation among insurers is necessary to share data, calculate costs, agree on coverage and standardize forms, and that these agreements are likely to benefit consumers and competition. In contrast to the general grant of immunity under the McCarran Act, the European BER protects six specific kinds of agreements. These protected agreements include joint calculation of average costs for specific risks, cooperation in studying the potential impact of external conditions on future claims, joint creation of optional standardized of policy forms, joint data collection and distribution of profitability models, voluntary insurance and reinsurance groups, and various technical specifications.31 The BER specifies detailed conditions that must be met for firms to be protected under the exemption and explicitly excludes other categories of agreements from the exemption.

As part of the BER sunset provision, the Commission is required to report by March 2009, to the European Parliament and Council on the operation of the block exemption and make recommendations for future re-enactment, amendment or elimination. The Commission has opened an official consultation process, soliciting views and recommendations of interest groups most likely to be affected, including consumer organizations, national antitrust agencies, stakeholders and industry representatives. In announcing the consultative process, the Commission warned that “Sector specific block exemption regulations [such as the BER for the insurance sector] are exceptionally used legal instruments and the question arises as to whether there remain sufficient grounds to justify block exempting certain types of agreements in the insurance sector.”32 DG Comp Commissioner Neelie Kroes affirmed that “If there are to be special rules for a particular sector, I need to be convinced that they are justified in terms of bringing real benefits to competition and to consumers.”33

The block exemption consultation process is ongoing. The Commission is also charged with the duty to investigate underperforming economic sectors to determine whether antitrust violations are occurring. As part of that process, the Commission opened a wide-ranging investigation into the business insurance sector, issued an interim report in January 2007, and a final report in September 2007. The Commission recognized that the industry, including primary and reinsurers, is critical to EU businesses and accounts for some 375 billion Euros in premiums annually. Among the areas of concern were the co-insurance and reinsurance sectors generally. In addition, “best terms and conditions” clauses were flagged as a potential issue because such clauses and practices could tend to raise and stabilize premium prices. The final report criticizes a variety of practices but does not identify any as specifically illegal under EU competition law. Instead, the report concludes by warning members of the insurance sector that it will continue to monitor competition and invites firms to consult further about the value of the practices.34 Notably, however, the Sector Report highlights the sector block exemption and warns that “Insurers should be prepared ... for the possibility that the BER might not be renewed.”

Even without the block exemption, concerted industry practices, data exchanges, production of optional standardized forms, and other agreements among insurers would not necessarily violate the European antitrust laws. In this respect, the European law is comparable to the American law: agreements that are procompetitive and appropriately limited would likely be legal under modern rule of reason analysis even if they are not protected by broad antitrust immunity. The Commission underlined the risk of leaving an unnecessary and overbroad exemption in place: “There is a risk that the BER inadvertently exempts some restrictive conduct. For example, this may be the case in certain markets for security devices, which are artificially closed to competition by collective non recognition of these devices by insurers. .... Common standards aid switching between insurers, but at the same time there is a potential for abuse. This is the problem with form-based exemptions such as the BER, and explains why there should be as much scope as possible for an effects-based approach consistent with the need for leg certainty.”35

The European approach to a broad, sector-specific exemption from the antitrust laws is consistent with the modern approach and benchmarks of international organizations. The International Competition Network is a virtual organization of the more than 90 national competition authorities and enforcement agencies worldwide. This organization is a forum for competition advocacy, organizes training programs for new agencies, and works to promulgate consensus on substantive and procedural antitrust issues. The ICN is less than a decade old and has focused its early work on antitrust issues that are most important and likely to gain broad agreement. However, the interface between competition and regulation was addressed at the third annual meeting, held in Seoul in 2004, and the ICN Regulated Sectors Working Group produced reports on competition in a variety of regulated sectors. The Working Group acknowledged the potentially productive role of regulated industries in market economies, but recommended that regulation be limited to situations of market failure because “regulation and antitrust enforcement pursue different aims and affect different aspects of business conduct.” In addition, the Report points out that “the solution to ‘exempt’ regulated sectors from the application of antitrust rules has been progressively abandoned in most countries as a result of technical progress allowing competition in natural monopoly environments.”36 The business of insurance is probably not such a “natural monopoly.” Technical progress in evaluating data should make the sector function more efficiently, to the benefit of consumers, but it has not yet created new products or business forms to compete in the sector. Therefore, regulation and some form of antitrust immunity to make the regulation work in these sectors is more justifiable. The ICN generally favors effective antitrust enforcement to increase consumer welfare, supplemented by regulation as appropriate to deal with market failure.

The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) has provides sophisticated analysis and recommendations on competition laws of individual states and on broad policy issues. A 1998 Policy Roundtable on competition and the insurance industry surveyed the state of law and regulatory issues in OECD countries and made some relevant recommendations for more effective competition policies. The majority of countries reported that their antitrust laws applied without exemption to the insurance sector, but that special characteristics and requirements of the insurance industryware considered in evaluating particular cases. Overall, experts concluded, any restrictive industry practices must improve the market and benefit consumers. In particular, information sharing and agreements on co-insurance and reinsurance were generally considered efficient and legitimate, depending on the circumstances of each agreement.

The OECD found that the majority of jurisdictions with “modern antitrust laws” analyzed agreements in the insurance sector on a case-by-case basis under the rule of reason. The Report noted that “Countries with older competition laws tend to have older, overly-broad legislative exemptions for the insurance sector. Reform in such countries will involve replacing these broad exemptions with targeted, case-by-case approach on the same basis as occurs in other industries.”37

Conclusion

The most serious issue surrounding McCarran and other legislative grants of antitrust immunity is that such laws may act as a “one way rachet,” in the Supreme Court’s colorful phrase, expanding but not limiting the scope of the exemption.38 McCarran has been criticized from all sides since its adoption more than 60 years ago. Consumer agencies and State Attorneys General argue for total repeal, the Antitrust Modernization Commission deplores antitrust exemptions generally and recommends limited use, the American Bar Association urges replacement with amore limited exemption tailored to modern antitrust learning. Representatives of the insurance argue the necessity for various some joint activities and a broad immunity protecting their collective action. There is real force to these claims, but McCarran’s generous immunitymaybe overbroad and not necessary to achieve those pro-competitive benefits. Nevertheless, once embedded in the law, exemptions are difficult to remove despite criticism of the immunity, confusion among the courts, and proffers of compromise. Congress has not demonstrated serious commitment to McCarran reform and only gave limited attention to the issue until a recent flurry of proposed legislation. The draft legislation varies widely and includes efforts to narrow the immunity, to repeal it altogether and, in one creative new approach to preempt State authority over the industry and impose optional federal regulation. It is too soon to predict whether any of these proposals for reform will be adopted, but the testimony of various stakeholders at the single hearing was sharply divided despite important developments in antitrust analysis that protect core cooperative activity under the rule of reason.

Legal, financial, economic and social issues invariably interrelate, as Mr. Cuneo points out. The business of insurance is not alone in facing economic challenges, but it has been particularly affected. This crisis was anticipated by and motivated Senator Sununu to propose legislation that would both repeal the McCarran antitrust exemption and affirmatively preempt State regulation of the business of insurance for those global firms that choose a national regulatory system. Such a dramatic change to the current legal and regulatory landscape is a provocative response and deserves serious discussion. It should not be underestimated as merely changing the scope of antitrust law or tinkering with exemptions. Preemption of a historic State-regulated field, even if partial, would alter longstanding pattern of State regulation over an important economic sector and would challenge the allocation of power and deference between the States and federal roles. American stakeholders (the ABA, State Attorneys General, consumer groups, insurance organizations and firms) and international organizations have made important contributions to the McCarran antitrust immunity discussion. At the end of the day, however, some consensus can be found: antitrust laws are a consumer welfare prescription; antitrust exemptions should be narrowly construed and adopted when necessary to remedy market failures; and data dissemination and other agreements in the business of insurance are likely pro-competitive when analyzed under the rule of reason. The future of an insurance block exemption in Europe is uncertain, but in the absence of more consensus on a particular option, the one way rachet describes the status of antitrust immunity in American antitrust law - once an exemption has been granted and embedded in the law, it is likely to remain.

Endnotes

1.J.D. Vanderbilt University School of Law, B.A. Wellesley College. I am grateful to Taylor Nuttal for excellent research assistance on this project.
2.Report and Recommendations of the Antitrust Modernization Commission, Chapter IVB at 336 (2007) quoting the National Commission for the Review of Antitrust Laws and Procedures, Report to the President and the Attorney General, at 177 (1979).
3.The official policy positions of the American Bar Association and national Association of Attorneys General, and the recommendations of the Antitrust Modernization Commission, are included as a separate attachment.
4.15 U.S.C. §1011-1015. The Act provides:
§2(b) No Act of Congress shall be construed to invalidate, impair, or supersede any law enacted by any State for the purpose of regulating the business of insurance, or which imposes a fee or tax upon such business, unless such Act specifically relates to the business of insurance; Provided, That after June 30, 1948, .... the Sherman Act, ... the Clayton Act, and ... the Federal Trade Commission Act, ... shall be applicable to the business of insurance to the extent that such business is not regulated by State law.
§3(b) Nothing contained in this Act shall render the said Sherman Act inapplicable to any agreement to boycott, coerce, or intimidate, or act of boycott, coercion, or intimidation.
5.United States v. South-Eastern Underwriters Ass’n, 322 U.S. 533 (1944).
6.United States v. Topco Assoc., 405 U.S. 596, 610 (1972).
7.United States v. Socony-Vacuum Oil Co., 310 U.S. 150 (1940).
8.Broadcast Music, Inc. v. Columbia Broadcasting System, 441 U.S. 1 (1979).
9.California Dental Ass’n v. FTC, 526 U.S. 756 (1999) (Justice Breyer, concurring in part and dissenting in part).
10.See generally, United States v. United States Gypsum Co., 438 U.S. 422 (1978); United States v. Container Corp., 393 U.S. 333 (1969); Maple Flooring Ass’n v. United States, 268 U.S. 563 (1925).
11.See, United States v. Citizens & Southern Nat’l Bank, 422 U.S. 86 (1975).
12.Craig A. Barrington, Congress, Once Again, Debates Insurers’ Antitrust Exemption Under McCarran-Ferguson Act, Washington Legal Foundation (May 25, 2007).
13.Medical Malpractice Insurance Antitrust Act of 2005, S. 1525 (Sens. Patrick Leahy, Barbara Boxer, Richard Durbin, Russell Feingold, Edward Kennedy, Barbara Mikulski, Barack Obama, John Rockefeller, Ken Salazar, sponsors).
14.H.R. 2401, 109th Cong., 1st Sess. (2005). 15.S. 2509, 110th Cong. (2006).
16.John Sununu, Tim Johnson, Melissa Bean, Ed Royce, Insurance Companies Need a Federal Regulator, Wall St. Journal Sept. 23, 2008 (Opinion, on line edition).
17.S. 2509 § 1702, Application of the Federal Antitrust Laws to National Insurers, National Agencies, and Federally Licensed Insurance Producers, 110th Cong. (2006).
18.The McCarran-Ferguson Act: Implications of Repealing the Insurer’s Antitrust Exemption on S 1525 and S. 2509 before the Senate Judiciary Committee, 109th Cong., 2nd Sess. (2006).
19.Shaw v. Delta Airlines, 463 U.S. 85 (1983) (express preemption); McDermott v. Wisconsin, 228 U.S. 115 (1915) (implied preemption).
20.Rice v. Santa Fe Elevator Corp., 331 U.S. 218 (1947).
21.Rice v. Norman Williams Co., 458 U.S. 654 (1982).
22.Paul v. Virginia, 175 U.S. 168 (1868).
23.Heart of Atlanta Motel v. United States, 379 U.S. 241 (1964); Katzenbach v. McClung, 379 U.S. 294 (1964).
24.United States v. Lopez, 514 U.S. 549 (1995).
25.Group Life & Health Insurance Co. v. Royal Drug Co., 440 U.S. 205 (1979); Union Labor Life Ins. Co. v. Pireno, 458 U.. 119 (1982).
26.Goshawk Dedicated v. Portsmouth Settlement Co I, 466 F. Supp.2d 1293 (N.D. Ga. 2006); but see, Safety Nat’l Casualty Corp. v. Certain Underwriters at Lloyd’s, London, No. 06-30262 (5th Cir. Sept. 29, 2008); Certain Underwriters at Lloyd’s London v. Simon, 2007 WL 3047128 (S.D. Ind. 2007).
27.Humana, Inc. v. Forsyth, 525 U.S. 299 (2007).
28.Humana Inc. V. Forsyth, 525 U.S. 299 (2007)(civil RICO claims). 29.United States v. Redcorn, 528 F.3d 727 (10th Cir. 1008).
30.Regulation 1/2003, O.J. 2003 L 1/1 (effective May 1, 2004).
31.Commission Regulation (EC) No 358/2003 (Feb. 27, 2003).
32.Financial Services - Insurance overview, www.europa.eu.int/comm/competition/sectors/financial_services/insurance.html
33.Antitrust: Commission examines use of Insurance Block Exemption Regulation, IP/08/596 (April 17, 2008). The specific issues of interest to the Commission include: 1) whether and in what circumstances the block exemption is used, 2) whether there are industry-specific conditions in the insurance industry that make it different from other sectors that do not have individual block exemptions, 3) whether the block exemption creates any anticompetitive effects, and 4) whether eliminating the block exemption would make the industry more difficult to supervise or impose a burden on antitrust enforcers.
34.Competition: Final Report of the Sector Inquiry, Memo/07/382 (Sept. 25, 2007); IP/07/1390 (Sept. 25, 2007).
35.Competition: Final Report of the Sector Inquiry, Memo/07/382 (Sept. 25, 2007).
36.ICN, Antitrust Enforcement in Regulated ectors Working Group, Report to the Third ICN Annual Conference, Seoul at 3 (April 2004).
37.Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development; Directorate for Financial, Fiscal and Enterprise Affairs; Committee on Competition and Policy, Competition and Related Regulation Issues in the Insurance Industry 10-11 (Dec. 14, 1998).
38.This term comes from Katzenbach v. Morgan, 384 U.S. 641 (1966), a Voting Rights Act case holding that Congress had the power under §5 of the 14th Amendment to halt New York City’s use of a state literacy test. The Court stated that Congress had wide discretion to carry out the rights guaranteed by the Amendment. Footnote 10 clarified the reach of Congressional authority, stating that Congress had the power to expand rights but not decrease them, the so-called “one way rachet.”

Thursday, October 30, 2008

China and Its African Problem: Anarchy, Natural Resources and the Congo

China has spent the greater part of the last decade catching up. It has moved aggressively to develop its infrastructure, industry and economic and social institutions. China has begun to project its power abroad. And China has become a great consumer of resources. Nowhere has the effects of China's actions abroad been felt more directly than in Africa. China has invested heavily in Africa. It has been the host of great conferences in which the leaders of African states have been invited to Beijing for the Beijing Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation. It has sought to make itself a different kind of trade partner with the nations of the African continent. For all that, China's involvement in Africa has not been completely positive. I recently wrote about accusations of Chinese neo-colonialism in Africa, and Chinese sensitivities to these accusations. Larry Catá Backer, “The Problems of Being a great Power: China and Neo-Colonialism in Africa," Law at the End of the Day, Nov. 22, 2006.China has increasingly been the subject of sometimes understated warnings from important African leaders. I have suggested the nature of those warning issued by the outgoing leader of South Africa. See Larry Catá Backer, China and Neo-Colonialism in Africa: A Warning from South Africa Law at the End of the Day, Dec. 15, 2006.

But now it is not only African leaders, or frustrated workers who are exploiting Chinese presence in Africa for their own purposes. A recent report indicates that African revolutionary and insurrectionist movements are turning on the Chinese as well. It was reported recently that
In the Democratic Republic of Gongo, rebel leader, General Laurent Nkunda, whose forces have reached the edge of the eastern city of Goma has said he is opening “emergency humanitarian corridors” for refugees. An estimated 30,000 people, along with many government forces, fled Goma as Nkunda's forces advanced towards it this week, capturing several key towns from government forces on the way. The rebel leader is demanding direct negotiations with the government to discuss security and to express his objections to a deal giving China access to the region's mineral resources.
DRC rebel leaders opens "humanitarian corridor," Deutsche Welt, World News, October 30, 2008.

There is irony here. In some respects, China appears to be stepping into the shoes of prior foreign powers in search of riches on the continent. One would have thought that China could have avoided this. China has been a great friend of Africa, and progressive causes there almost from the time of the establishment of the People's Republic. Even through the turmoil of the Cultural Revolution, the Chinese have been a great source of ideological inspiration for many in Africa seeking an alternative to post colonial patterns of misgovernment (however debatable that choice might be). But it is one thing to serve as a source of ideological values and a supporter of political causes and it is quite another to engage closely in state to state relations with governments subject to severe criticism for anti-democratic and anti-human rights activities. More problematic are the activities of China as a competitor for the rights to extract the wealth of these African states for its won needs, and in return provide these African states, already struggling to industrialize, with cheap goods. China's Investment in Africa Comes With a Price, New York Times, ("Many African factories that once processed traditional-patterned cloth have been shut down as more affordable Chinese goods have flooded the market. "). Whatever the motivations of the Chinese, the results have not been good for Chinese policy. And it is worth taking a moment to remember that Chinese motives might be well meaning, though their consequences in Africa might be disastrous (for China at least). China has itself suffered through a long period of quasi colonial domination. It has suffered its territory to be used as a dumping ground for questionable goods (not the least of which was opium). From this perspective, a policy of non-interference in internal affairs of partner states reflects more on Chinese history than the history of its state partners. Of course, there is a bit of rosy history here--the same Chinese state that now adheres to strict policies of non interference was at the forefront of interference of the worst sort not so long ago when it served as a financier of many revolutionary and subversive movements throughout Africa. All of this is remembered, of course, when the Chinese state now seeks to support state governments it might have sought to over through a generation ago. While things have changed dramatically for the Chinese, the Africans still see with traditional eyes.

Of course, this is all great news for the West, China's rival for both influence and resources in Africa, but it also reflects African concerns. See, e.g., Deborah Brautigam and Adama Gaye, Online Debate: Is Chinese Investment Good for Africa?, Council on Foreign Relations, Feb. 20, 2007.
Even if Deborah [Brautigan] may be right to highlight China’s role in infrastructural and industrial developments and its swift cancellation of debts owed by Africa, it remains that this generosity is only deployed to buy goodwill. China gets more in return. It has now grabbed huge natural resources while dumping into the continent cheap industrial manufactured products. So far, China’s help has not reversed the unequal terms of trade that attracted wide criticisms against Western nations. The early colonizers came to Africa with alcohol and useless gifts to lure the locals. Is not China doing the same with the help of greedy leaders?
And that is the problem. The Chinese have moved on to new patterns of thinking and action in Africa. Their needs are different. They believe they might be doing good. But to Africans on the ground, they see the Chinese as a perhaps more exotic form of traditional exploiter. Here is yet another powerful state, feeding a corrupt government, using its influence with those government officials to extract good terms for trade between them, then use native labor to exploit natural resources for low wages in return for which the Chinese provide cheap goods that impede the industrialization of the host states. For the African laboring in a factory in Zambia, there may be little to distinguish the English in the 1950s from the Chinese in the 2000s. "“Their interest is exploiting us, just like everyone who came before,” he said. “They have simply come to take the place of the West as the new colonizers of Africa.”" Lydia Polgreen and Howard W. French, China's Trade in Africa Carries a Price Tag, New York Times, Aug. 21, 2007 (quoting Michael Sata, a Zambian opposition politician).

And perversely, those leaders who might at one time have relied on the Chinese for ideological and logistical support in their revolutionary efforts have now recast the Chinese in the role of neo-colonial exploiter. This has significant consequences for Chinese personnel in Africa. It is not for nothing, fopr example, that revolutionary movements in Sudan now target Chinese workers in their campaign against what is viewed in many quarters as a racist and corrupt government. See Anita Change, Chinese Say Hostages Held in Sudan Died During Failed Rescue Attempt, Star Trinune (Minneapolis MN), October 28, 2008 ("Five Chinese oil workers kidnapped in Sudan died during a botched rescue attempt, the Foreign Ministry said Tuesday. . . .China buys nearly two-thirds of Sudan's oil, and petroleum sales account for 70 percent of the African country's export revenue. Rebels have previously warned Chinese and other oil firms to leave the country, saying their operations help support the government in Khartoum.").

But is that necessarily the end of it? One would think so. But that is too easy. Chinese policy can meet this challenge in ways that might have been harder for the Western predecessors in Africa. Here is one suggestion--practice those progressive ideals in the relations between China and African states in which there is significant Chinese investment. How might that e possible? For one thing, in those places where Chinese multinational corporation's operate factories or other entities, the Chinese owner/managers might (1) engage in greater training of local workers for managerial and other higher wage positions, (2) ensure the payment of living wages, (3) share profits with local workers to the extent that such workers meet or exceed production goals, (4) provide systems of technology transfer, and (5) ensure closer ties by seeking local partners where possible. The irony, of course, is that much of this constitutes the core of rising notions of corporate social responsibility as applied to multinational corporations. For China, its political value might exceed it costs.

But this course is unlikely in the near future.

Dozens of major banks and other financial institutions in developed countries, such as Citigroup, have begun to adopt a set of voluntary environmental and social standards called the Equator Principles, said Suellen Lazarus, a senior adviser at the Dutch bank ABN AMRO. But Chinese banks have not adopted the principles, which were created largely in response to pressure from nongovernmental organizations and the media, she added.

However, for Jianzhong Lu, vice president of the China Communications Construction Highway Engineering Co., the need to establish infrastructure, such as water treatment projects, outweighs the need to address the ensuing environmental problems. These projects can sometimes have health and environmental benefits to people far greater than their environmental impacts, he said.

Annie Jia, Roundtable probes the politics of China's large-scale investments in Africa, Stanford News Service, May 16, 2007.


Sunday, October 26, 2008

Bank Bailout Ball: Using Federal TARP Funds for Acquisition Financing

My reserarch assistant, Sandra Gonzalez del Pilar, has kindly provided a summary of the terms of the bank bailout portion of the federal government's efforts to control the effects fo the current financial crisis.

After the enactment of EESA on October 3, 2008 the Bush administration’s implementation of the Troubled Asset Purchase Program (TARP) under EESA has taken a different approach. There are now three initiatives under the Troubled Asset Relief Program: the Trouble Asset Auction Program, the Capital Purchase Program, and a program being developed by the Secretary on Systemically Significant Failing Institutions. This summary deals with the Capital Purchase Program, which was announced by President Bush and the Treasury Secretary on October 14, 2008. The program intends to inject capital into the banking system, which mirrors recent actions in Europe.

She provided a summary of the program as prepared by the U.S. Department of Treasury Department, which itself is redolent with understatement:

Under the program, Treasury will purchase up to $250 billion of senior preferred shares on standardized terms as described in the program's term sheet. The program will be available to qualifying U.S. controlled banks, savings associations, and certain bank and savings and loan holding companies engaged only in financial activities that elect to participate before 5:00 pm (EDT) on November 14, 2008. Treasury will determine eligibility and allocations for interested parties after consultation with the appropriate federal banking agency.

The minimum subscription amount available to a participating institution is 1 percent of risk-weighted assets. The maximum subscription amount is the lesser of $25 billion or 3 percent of risk-weighted assets. Treasury will fund the senior preferred shares purchased under the program by year-end 2008. Institutions interested in participating in the program should contact their primary federal regulator for specific enrollment details.

The senior preferred shares will qualify as Tier 1 capital and will rank senior to common stock and pari passu, which is at an equal level in the capital structure, with existing preferred shares, other than preferred shares which by their terms rank junior to any other existing preferred shares. The senior preferred shares will pay a cumulative dividend rate of 5 percent per annum for the first five years and will reset to a rate of 9 percent per annum after year five. The senior preferred shares will be non-voting, other than class voting rights on matters that could adversely affect the shares. The senior preferred shares will be callable at par after three years. Prior to the end of three years, the senior preferred may be redeemed with the proceeds from a qualifying equity offering of any Tier 1 perpetual preferred or common stock. Treasury may also transfer the senior preferred shares to a third party at any time. In conjunction with the purchase of senior preferred shares, Treasury will receive warrants to purchase common stock with an aggregate market price equal to 15 percent of the senior preferred investment. The exercise price on the warrants will be the market price of the participating institution's common stock at the time of issuance, calculated on a 20-trading day trailing average.

Companies participating in the program must adopt the Treasury Department's standards for executive compensation and corporate governance, for the period during which Treasury holds equity issued under this program. These standards generally apply to the chief executive officer, chief financial officer, plus the next three most highly compensated executive officers.

The financial institution must meet certain standards, including: (1) ensuring that incentive compensation for senior executives does not encourage unnecessary and excessive risks that threaten the value of the financial institution; (2) required clawback of any bonus or incentive compensation paid to a senior executive based on statements of earnings, gains or other criteria that are later proven to be materially inaccurate; (3) prohibition on the financial institution from making any golden parachute payment to a senior executive based on the Internal Revenue Code provision; and (4) agreement not to deduct for tax purposes executive compensation in excess of $500,000 for each senior executive. Treasury has issued interim final rules for these executive compensation standards.

According to announcements by the US Department of Treasury, nine large financial organizations have agreed to participate in the program and it has received indications of interest from a broad group of banks of all sizes.

The US government has now issued the following documents for the Capital Purchase Program:
-Term Sheet

-Application Guidelines

-Frequently Asked Questions documents for the program:

According to an October 14, 2009 press release by the US Department of Treasury, in addition to the bank capitalization, Secretary Paulson has triggered the systemic risk exception to the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) Act, enabling the FDIC to temporarily guarantee the senior debt of all FDIC-insured institutions and their holding companies, as well as deposits in non-interest bearing deposit transaction accounts. The ability to use guarantee debt under the program would expire on June 30, 2009 and the full protection for deposits in noninterest bearing transaction deposit accounts would revert back to the statutory limits on December 31, 2009.

Furthermore, to increase access to funding for businesses in all sectors of the economy, the Federal Reserve has announced further details of its Commercial Paper Funding Facility (CPFF) program, which provides a broad backstop for the commercial paper market. Beginning October 27, 2008, the CPFF will be able to purchase commercial paper of 3 month maturity form high-quality issuers.

Well, the proof is in the pudding, so the English have taught us. And, this much ballyhooed bank bailout has begun to have effect. Two of the smaller fry receiving federal largess for the protection of the American banking system have taken the money and begun using it--for their own narrow best interests. It seems that PNC Financial Services Group is using its bailout goodies to attempt an acquisition of National City at a bargain price. See PNC and Valley National Get on the Dole Bailout Report, Oct. 25, 2008. Other banks have begun to use the promise of cash to negotiate equity deals with the Federal Treasury. All to the good--our banks and the integrity of the financial system have been saved by opening the federal coffers for state controlled or directed merger, acquisition and finance transactions of a common sort. Good times are likly just around the corner.

Saturday, October 25, 2008

A Mania for Pathology: The Science of Behavior and American Governance

Every culture has its own orientation--that framework from which it understands the reality around it, and which serves as a basis for choices about the form of social organization that are constructed from out of it. For some, religion supplies the compass for navigating and organizing reality. For others, process determinism of some sort helps. For Americans, the last great product of Enlightenment sensibilities, it is science that has come to order reality. This is particularly the case with respect to the construction of the normal individual as a complex nexus of expected behaviors of utility to the individual. . and more importantly perhaps, to the community of which she is a part. For that purpose, the science of medicine
In all societies the ability to manipulate healing can be used to reinforce selected social relations, classes, and ideologies. While this is most obviously the case in psychotherapy, which entails premises about what behavior should be, numerous studies demonstrate that the way in which other forms of medicine can be involved in the management of society. . . . Therapies may align themselves with the interests of specific classes and groups of a given society, may mediate and reinforce certain ideological elements. They are created within a given social order, but also reproduce that order.
Leith Mullings, Therapy, Ideology and Social Change: Mental Healing in Urban Ghana 1 (Berkeley, CA: University of California Press, 1984). Medicine provides the referent of a reality then maintained through law. Society, organized on scientific principles, tends to reflect the realities of the normal extracted from a science of individuals that in turn reflect and reproduce the forms of social organization and individual responsibility within it. That connection between science and behavior, between law and social expectations, is well evidenced in the law of sexual behavior and gender role modelling. See Larry Catá Backer, Raping Sodomy and Sodomizing Rape: A Morality Tale About the Transformation of Modern Sodomy Jurisprudence, AMERICAN JOURNAL OF CRIMINAL LAW 21:37 (1993); Larry Catá Backer, Emasculated Men, Effeminate Law in the United States, Zimbabwe and Malaysia, YALE JOURNAL OF LAW & FEMINISM 17:1 (2005).

But the parameters of this turn in the disciplines for ordering society have been well understood for a generation. See, e.g., Philip Rieff, The Triumph of the Therapeutic: Uses of Faith After Freud (1966); Philip Reiff, Sacred Order/Social Order: My Life Among the Deathworks: Illustrations of the Aesthetics of Authority (2006); James L. Nolan, The Therapeutic State: Justifying Government at Century's End (New York: New York University Press, 1998). "Truth, tradition, morals, and manners have been kicked aside to make way for the dogma of dogmas: “It all comes down to me, and how I feel about me.”" Richard John Neuhaus,Philip Rieff has died at age 83… First Things, July 10, 2006. The therapeutic might well have even overcome the religious framework of ordering reality in the West: "People who try to practice orthodox Christianity and Judaism today, [Reiff] says, inevitably remain trapped in the vocabulary of therapy and self-fulfillment. “I think the orthodox are role-playing,” he says. “You believe because you think it’s good for you, not because of anything inherent in the belief. I think that the orthodox are in the miserable situation of being orthodox for therapeutic reasons.”" Id.

And the implications of the science/medicine centering of reality for social organization for social control--through law and habit--have also been well developed, through notions of the "disciplines" those self reinforcing and self executing habits that serve as minutely and compelling structures of behavior far more intimately connected to the individual than the traditional control through the imposition of law. See Michel Foucault, Discipline and Punish: The Birth of the Prison (Alan Sheridan, trans., 19977, NY: Vintage Books 1995)). The great glory of a therapeutically based disciplinary society is that law can be reduced to a gesture--the real work of social control is focused below the level of instrumental statements from institutional actors to a complex set of ideas about normal conduct which are to be absorbed by individuals who then police themselves. Larry Catá Backer, Democracy Part XI: Mass Democracy and Shareholder Democracy ConvergeLaw at the End of the Day, June 30, 2008.

It was with this in mind that I watched a media segment meant to instruct its audience on the appropriate attitude toward shopping (in this age of greater financial scarcity). The focus was on shopping--and the language was therapeutic. Joy Levy, Bad Habits: Soft Addictions can Wreck Havoc on You and Your Relationships, ABC News 20/20 Program, Aug. 28, 2007.
Michelle Espy couldn't stop being a slob. Mindi Hartman couldn't stop shopping and Uche Odiatu couldn't stop arriving late. So what did Espy, Hartman and Odiatu have in common? A bad habit they just can't break. According to educator and life coach Judith Wright, almost all of us have bad habits or what Wright calls "soft addictions." . . .

Hartman said she shopped because she's bored. "We live out in the country. We have nothing but land and cows to look at."She knew how upset Kirk got with her shopping, so she hid the bills."It causes a lot of tension at the end of the month when the bank statements arrive," Hartman said. "I usually find the bank statements [hidden] in the back of a cabinet, behind a whole bunch of other stuff," Kirk said. What upsets him the most is that she is not telling him the truth. Wright worked with Hartman and found that she was shopping to fill a void in her life. That's often the case for most soft addictions. "We keep going to them, hoping that they'll give us what it is we need. If I just have enough designer dresses, then I'll be loved. Or if I just gossip enough, then I'll have a connection with another person," Wright said.Hartman related that emptiness in her life to her husband. "He just needs to be around more often." She said that her shopping addiction worsened when her deepest feelings of loneliness started.

Id. The latest media version of this spotlighting appeared on the ABC television morning show--The Today Show. These addictions are both psychological and biological--there is a reference to the mood heightening effect of engaging in pathological activity through the release of dopamine. There is also a transmutation of old fashioned moral/religious guilt/sin into internal contradiction, evidenced in symptoms of anti social activity (in the case of shopping soft addiction by hiding purchases, depression, minimizing the anti social effects of the activity, angry families, feeling guilty or forgetful, etc.). See id. One can't control oneself but

The object was to change behavior by making such change both necessary and legitimate on the basis of the scientific truth of normal (compulsory and legitimate) and irrational (anti-social and deviant) behavior. The language of the program meant to popularize the latest therapeutic rationality--"soft addiction." The face of soft addiction is Judith Wright, who has become the transmitter of this knowledge through the great American media outlets (themselves the most significant sources of legitimization in current American cultural circles). See, e.g., Judith Wright, The Soft Addiction Solution (Tarcher, October 19, 2006). The editorial review of that work is telling:
Have you ever wondered how you might carve more meaning and purpose out of your crowded days? . . . . As Judith Wright reveals . . . many of us are addicted to seemingly harmless and socially sanctioned habits such as shopping, watching TV, and gossiping-robbing us of our time, clouding our clarity of mind, and masking our deeper longing for lasting joy. According to Wright, soft addictions are seductive because they satisfy powerful desires-and we easily become hooked because they are perceived as "normal" behavior, behavior that doesn't seem to demand the extraordinary measures of a drug or alcohol addiction. Yet soft addictions . . . are so damaging.
Id. More interesting still is the web site devoted to behavior control through systems of judging appropriate and deviant minor behavior and correcting the "bad." See Judith Wright WebSite.

Of course, there is nothing wrong with this. But it is interesting to note the way that social presumptions have been made for a population now trained to absorb the lessons of behavior--personal and political governance--from the modern sources of social, economic and political ordering. No longer sources in religion, philosophy, morals or ethics, but in the therapeutic, an ostensibly scientific medicinal system of intimate self governance. And thus the increasing importance of "unofficial" sources of control over individual and communal behavior--not in law but in micro management of behavior and a susceptibility to acceptance of the sourcing of that management in therapists legitimated by powerful media sources. To control the state apparatus today requires less control of the instrumentalities of the state--and its law making/enforcement capabilities--than control of the elaboration of constructs of individual self management and its media mouthpieces. Thus, and ironically enough, the apparently individualistic focus on psycho therapeutic theories masks a strong communal and controlling framework.
In all societies, then, psychotherapies function to mediate between the individual and the society, between personality and the culture through bridging contradictions. They provide answers to the problem of selfhood and its articulation to society. . . . Therapies create order ad bridge contradictions in accordance with a theoretical framework, implicit and explicit values that have reference to the dominant class of a given socioeconomic formation.
Mullings, supra., at 195-196. By focusing on individual self control in patterns, social control on a vast scale is possible at very little cost. If everyone becomes her own policeman, the state has less to do. To control the levers of self fulfillment is to control the communal order.