[AKrumbach]

This argument seems to subtly imply that the only efficacious means to "level an uneven playing field" is government regulation, and not some other, non-government process such as boycotts.

Government regulation is, ultimately, only one item in the civic toolbox of society. If it turns out this is flawed, and will in the long run generate more negative outcomes than positive ones, abandoning the tool does not mean abandoning the final goal. Instead, we must utilize alternate means of achieving the same ends... or accept that corruption as the price of our chosen path.

[quadrangle]

Boycotts are historically extremely ineffective. They require absurd amounts of coordination and go against incentives each individual has.

If you have strong enough coordination, we end up calling it "government".

[AKrumbach]

By your logic, a labor union "strike" must also be extremely ineffective. (They require massive coordination and go against each individual's incentive to work.)

Yet they do work, and we don't call labor unions "government".