There is no such thing as an ‘antitrust market’. Markets are merely analytical tools, which serve to structure available evidence and enable a comprehensive answer to a particular question. They do not exist as such in the real world but are figments of our intellectual imagination. In that capacity, they can be immensely useful. A pursuit of objectivity in the process of product market definition remains in vain as long as we fail to acknowledge that the utility of antitrust markets lies precisely in their reductive and purposive nature. This article makes two main arguments. The first argument is simple, yet far-reaching: antitrust market definition is useful because it is a method to enable the answer to a question. The implication is that the market is defined by reference to that particular question, rather than as an independent and neutral object. Market definition is ‘purposive’. In the context of competition investigations, this question can concern, but does not have to be limited to, determinations of market power. The second argument is that market definition, even though purposive, does not need to be subjective. Objectivity in market definition can be achieved by aspiring to process objectivity, rather than to objective outcomes. JEL codes: K21; L40; A00

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反垄断市场不存在：在有目的的过程中追求客观性

没有“反垄断市场”这样的东西。市场只是分析工具，用于构建可用的证据并为特定问题提供全面的答案。它们在现实世界中并不存在，而是我们智力想象的虚构。在这种能力下，它们可能非常有用。只要我们不承认反垄断市场的效用恰恰在于其还原性和目的性，那么在产品市场定义过程中追求客观性就是徒劳的。本文提出了两个主要论点。第一个论点很简单，但意义深远：反垄断市场定义很有用，因为它是一种能够回答问题的方法。这意味着市场是通过参考该特定问题来定义的，而不是作为一个独立和中立的对象。市场定义是“有目的的”。在竞争调查的背景下，这个问题可以涉及但不限于市场力量的确定。第二个论点是市场定义，即使是有目的的，也不需要是主观的。市场定义的客观性可以通过追求过程的客观性而不是客观的结果来实现。JEL 代码：K21；L40; A00 而不是客观的结果。JEL 代码：K21；L40; A00 而不是客观的结果。JEL 代码：K21；L40; A00