People also "voluntarily" made mining companies hugely successful in the 19th century. But that doesn't mean the workers, that worked there "voluntarily" didn't suffer greatly from their work.
They worked there voluntarily in every practical sense of the word. There was no threat of violence on behalf of any of the parties entering into contract. Which part of this equation do you feel entitled to intervene in?
If these miners chose to become farmers instead, would you still say that they were "voluntarily" farmers? Or that mother nature was oppressing them by forcing them into hard labor..
I'm absolutely sure people enjoy terrible working conditions and meagre wages just because they want to make their millionaire boss a multi millionaire boss... not because they alternative is to be homeless/be hungry/die of cold.
I'm also absolutely sure you can be whatever you want to be. I.E. an immigrant arriving in the shores of the USA in the 19th century could just build his own cattle ranch. Boy if he accepted to work 18h a day 400m bellow the surface of the Earth, receive a ridiculously small wage for the job and die in his 30's from it, I'm absolutely sure it was because that was actually the miner's life long dream.
Damn unions, destroying those nice miner's dreams of having a miserable life since the 1900's...
