I can completely fault current companies for inhumane and unethical practices, even if they are completely legal. Including outsourcing work to countries where child labor laws, sweatshop conditions, and environmental damage, while possibly illegal, are a simple bribe away.
Sure, planned economies don't work. That's one of the reasons for social democracy ("... a political, social and economic ideology that supports economic and social interventions to promote social justice within the framework of a liberal democratic polity and capitalist economy as well as a policy regime involving a commitment to representative and participatory democracy, measures for income redistribution and regulation of the economy in the general interest, and welfare state provisions."; Wikipedia). But I don't see why this comment is particularly relevant?
Abstractly speaking, a balance of power is good. Concretely speaking, I can't make sense of it. Does Germany have the right balance of power? Does the US? My sense is that unions rarely have enough power. Certainly not in the US, where workers don't even have the right to a representative on the company boards.
"this sets a minimal productivity a job must have to exist in the first place"
Sure. But given the several centuries of productivity improvements, why are we all still working as long in the first place? Quoting Wikipedia again, in the article on John Maynard Keynes: "Keynes thought that the pursuit of money for its own sake was a pathological condition, and that the proper aim of work is to provide leisure. He wanted shorter working hours and longer holidays for all."
If we worked 28 hours per week, as IG Metall recently negotiated, then there would be more jobs.
"not having a job is bad for your psyche"
I'm of mixed feelings of this. I know a lot of people who would love to work on free and open source software, but cannot because it's not a viable source of income. If there was a basic income, which was enough to live on, then I think they would "have a job" doing software development, even if it wasn't really a job.
A lot of rich people don't have a job, but volunteer to be on, say, an art museum board or other organization. I think this helps the psyche, even though it isn't a paying job.
Regarding committees, I used it to point out that most companies are not run by a dictatorial head, which appears to be your argument. I brought up "celebrity CEOs" to point out that that might be more a marketing and journalism myth, or selection bias, than a reality.
DuPont is one of the longest-lived companies in the US, so by your standard it's one of the most successful. What do you know of its management style? Probably nothing. It's simply not flashy enough to make the popular press.
"It seems to me that focusing on the salary is not the right way though, because they follow from the celebrity system (which makes "good" CEOs more rare)."
As I pointed out in the quote by Wolff, the high salaries are true for more than just celebrity CEOs. They are true of nearly all CEOs in mid-to-large companies, and to many college presidents, and many non-profits (the Wolff piece mentions the recent at a Chicago YMCA, but I can include the American Red Cross and Susan G. Komen for the Cure).