>It's funny how people deride governments as central planners when companies and their owners are committing that very same central planning at a smaller scale.

>It's funny how people deride governments as central planners when companies and their owners are committing that very same central planning at a smaller scale. The only difference is that the government is much bigger and when it isn't then local governments will lick the boots of the CEOs. It's not the only difference. Another important difference is that the central planners aren't spending their own money. The way they get money is through taxes - they use the threat of violence to get people to pay, because government has the (legal) monopoly on violence. You can't opt out from paying either. You're not wrong the large companies have the same central planning problem. One upside though is that people aren't forced to do business with a specific company - they can choose a competitor instead. That's part of why monopolies are a problem. They have the central planning problem and no alternative. The billionaire gets to tell others what to do because he's paying for it. The central planner takes your money and then tells you what to do. If you don't comply you go to prison. Also, the central planning problem does become less of a problem the smaller the scale.