I think that's the foundation and root of "crony" capitalism. This is in contrast to a true free market with everyone competing (don't like working for this guy, go work for the next). All the greed/exploitation comes about when there is ironically a lot of regulation (i.e. high business tax) - you end up with a couple of monopolies (the only ones who can afford the tax) pretending to compete, raking in the profits and leaving employees begging to keep their job (becomes an employers market). This is why I actually don't mind Trump - he appears to want to bring back that competition with minimal regulation so that everyone wins (I could be wrong though).

I'm not smart on this stuff though and may have missed your point. End of the day some regulation ("the question of degree") might be useful.