ArtificialGlory
God-Emperor of Eternity
That is simply not true. The strike was supported by over 5000 of the town’s population, unionists or not. There’s no proof of intimidation. It’s also not historically agreed upon who fired first. The Pinkertons wanted to maintain their good reputation, yes, but they also wanted to maintain their reputation as a company that gets things done. Either way, the Pinkertons got their asses kicked and the state militia was called in to deal with the situation, which they did quite well.
People would support companies that use force because they would have no choice, alternatives, or more likely out of sheer convenience and not giving a crap. People buy products made in sweatshops even today and the vast majority don’t care; in the past, people had no problems dealing with the East Indian Company which was known for its brutal practices. Eliminating or suppressing competition would actually be worthwhile in the mid and the long-term as having a monopoly = massive profits. Most people wouldn’t and probably couldn’t do anything about it for much the same reasons why the people of places like North Korea, Somalia or those under the mercy of the Mexican drug cartels can’t or won’t do anything about it: they’d be too oppressed and intimidated.
As for arbitration: it would only be a thing between billionaires and mega-corps, who would deal with each other as relative equals. Joe Average would have little choice but to use private courts owned by the corporations and/or the ultra-rich, which of course would rule any way their owners told them to.
The thing about drug cartels is that in an Ancap society, they would be a legitimate business and would not have to work in secrecy. And the only competitors they would face would be other drug cartels.