I think Libertarianism as an economic concept would really be viable if companies were much smaller and generally locally based.
Say I own a small chain of clothing stores, and so does Liberal. Both of us provide approximately equal quality product at about equal prices. The factory that supplies Lib’s product adopts more efficient processes that enable it to make more product for less money, which means Lib can offer the same product for less. I have the option of looking for a new supplier so I can purchase, r agree to do business with my current supplier if they will adopt more effcient/less expensive processes and sell the products at a price that will fairly compete with Lib. Then Lib can decide that the way to compete with me is to offer better customer service, and I can do the same. Thus the competition between us assures that our respective customers get the best possible products, with the best possible service, at the best possible prices, which insures a steady supply of customers for both of us, continued profits and a decent wage for our employees.
Then along comes some huge mega-corporation that sets up a massive store that undercuts both of our prices. Of course, part of the way they do this is to pressure its suppliers to cut costs to the point that the quality of the product sufers, but it takes the consumer a while to figure out that the jeans they bought fall apart after six months… also, they pay lower wages than either Lib or I do, and do not maintain sufficient staff in their stores to provide any decent customer service.
So, now our options would be to cut staff and reduce the wages of the employees we keep, or go under, but even these measures do not enable us to lower prices enough to compete with the giant corporation’s mega-store, so we both go out of business, and all of our employees become jobless, as do the employees of the toy store up the street, the sporting goods store around the corner, the hardware store on the other side of the parkig lot, and the supermarket about a mile from here.
Of course, these people can all go apply for jobs at the mega-store, but in reality, more jobs are lost in the community than are provided by the mega-store… So the workers suffer from a shortage of jobs, or from being forced to take jobs that don’t pay as well, the consumers suffer because by having to replace the products they buy every few months instead of having things that will last for years, they are ultimatly having to spend more money, the factories that Lib and I purchased our products from end up going under because the mega-corp has squashed so many other potential customers, putting those workers out of work…
I think the existance of mega-corporations makes Libertaranism a terrible idea for he modern economy. The mega-corp doesn’t compete in the marketplace, it drives potential competition out of the marketplace, and that’s bad for all parties concened.