The goal of antitrust law was initially to promote competition. That benefits the consumer because competition leads to either lower prices or improved differen

The goal of antitrust law was initially to promote competition. That benefits the consumer because competition leads to either lower prices or improved differentiation. One of the most famous early use of the antitrust is United States v. Paramount Pictures, Inc. in 1948 which ended the studio system. It was about vertical integration and how the studios used their power to both bully small cinemas and prevent competition on the production side. As you can see, there is no consumer in sight. The Chicago School of economics pushed very hard for narrowing the scope of the law (obviously) but that's a fairly modern take.