[shkkmo]

> Eliminating competition leads to gross inefficiency and incompetence.

It can, especially if poorly managed. However, there is a reason why most companies are heirarchical systems.

If markets were truely the "one true way to do things" you would see markets all the way down. That simply is not the case. In fact, instead we see that "vertical integration" can be extremely successful and can multiple companies linked purely by markets.

Similarly, you don't see very many successful truely free markets. It turns out that you need the rule of law and a regulating authority to minimize unproductive competition that would otherwise swamp the benefits of the productive competitive.

We don't want companies competing for sales by blowing up each other's stores. We want companies to compete for sales by making better products.

Deciding when and how to mix markets with heirarchical and other systems is extremely complicated and hard. But it is simple minded to pretend that pure markets are always the best solution when reality so clearly shows the benefits of hybrid systems.

[WalterBright]

> you don't see very many successful truely free markets

It's been very successful everywhere it's been tried.