Sure , but since nobody is forcing employers to raise wages , the trend is generally downward absent regulations . Why do you think the trend is generally downward absent regulations ? What ' s your historical precedent ? Basically , in an ideal world , sure , everything would be voluntary . Then why not strive for the ideal ? In practice , a person who doesn ' t want to work for a capitalist employer has no more asked to be born into a world where natural resources are all owned and there is no way to be selfsufficient Shortage of natural resources is not holding anyone back . People are free to go into the woods and make use of as much natural resources as they want to provide for themselves . That they don ' t is because they have better options living in civilization and trading their labor for income . The constraints and demands that reality imposes on people are , by definition , not a form of oppression . They are simply biological needs and circumstance . So the fact that a person is born without their parents having left them with wealth , and in a world where you need resources to avoid privation , doesn ' t excuse forcibly enrolling other people into programs against their will . Using personal need as a justification for the creation of nonvoluntary social programs is just creating an excuse for authoritarian control over others . What ' s immature is to assume that you owe nothing to society and society owes you nothing Both are true . We are not born into bondage or debt . in practice , people will generally choose to be selfish when there are no immediate consequences . In the free world , there should be no legal punishment for selfishness . A free society is one where you are free to use your own person and property in any manner you wish , as long as you do not rob others of their freedom . A free society is one where we don ' t punish people simply because they are acting contrary to our values or ideology . There are places in the world with no functioning government and no social safety nets , and they are generally not nice places to live . But I am not advocating for the abolishment of government . We absolutely need government . I just think we are going to have to work together to get there , not take an everymanforhimself approach where cooperation is optional . Working together and making cooperation optional are not mutually exclusive . Those who would prefer not to work with others should be free to live independently . Their nonparticipation in your plans does not stop you from cooperating with others . In other words , there ' s no excuse for you to use violence against them because they refuse to cooperate with you . Moreover , forcible redistribution is not cooperation . It ' s an authoritarian interaction .