Free market economics did ruin it. The Unions.

Unions grasped for everything they could as all that matters is NOW. Don't prepare for the future, don't invest in the community - money for their members ASAP!!!
They persisted in this mentality to the bitter end.

A much better model is Germany where companies tend to value their employees and employees value the company. This facet is separate to how socialist the country is - the company survives and people keep their jobs. Both sides work together through hard patches.