I see where you're confused. I mean one single director directing all capital from above. In the free market we have many free actors directing their own capital.
Not sure what that Salon article has to do with anything.
Lampert took the myth that humans perform best when acting selfishly as gospel, pitting Sears company managers against each other in a kind of Lord of the Flies death match. This, he believed, would cause them to act rationally and boost performance.This is not an argument against the free market, it's an argument for it. He decided to manage his business in this fashion while his competition had a different strategy. He lost and the competition won. Capital was moved from inefficient to efficient actors.
Lastly, you dismissing the economic calculation problem with a lmao really does not look good on you. Please explain how economic calculation is possible in a society without market prices. Don't worry if you can't. No one can, as it is not possible, as has already been proved many times.
RE: Markets and the Rise of the Ruling Class