Part of the mythology of western capitalism (as it is practiced) is that it's 100% market based. But as you've noticed, it's actually a whole bunch of centrally planned hierarchical petty dictatorships bumping and grinding like boulders in a sea of small businesses like sand grains. Sometimes one of the small businesses will swell up and become a boulder, and sometimes a boulder will crumble.
The main advantages of the market seems to be that failure is usually localized and containable -- although we came frighteningly close to a widespread meltdown in 2008 -- and, arguably, markets are better at promoting information flow and responding to new demands (although I suspect the growth of IP law and the existence of trade secrets counteract this to some extent).
But it's worth noting that the mean life expectancy of a publicly quoted corporation is around 30 years -- and the USSR made it through just over seven decades.
The main advantages of the market seems to be that failure is usually localized and containable -- although we came frighteningly close to a widespread meltdown in 2008 -- and, arguably, markets are better at promoting information flow and responding to new demands (although I suspect the growth of IP law and the existence of trade secrets counteract this to some extent).
But it's worth noting that the mean life expectancy of a publicly quoted corporation is around 30 years -- and the USSR made it through just over seven decades.