We had that, it was called ‘slavery’. The United Kingdom outlawed it back in 1834, it’s still practiced in Africa.

The premise is something I think about too. Image someone who has interests and expectations that are naturally in line with a completely ascetic lifestyle, where they do not aim to collect wealth, are prepared to own nothing, to have no children / dependents, and basically just to live a simple life of service. What viable options are there today for even that saint-like person to opt out?

Historically you could join the military and maybe actually participate in something like exploration instead of murder. You could dedicate your life to the academy / ivory tower even as a normal person, just a quiet life dedicated to study, without being one of the top minds in a crowded competitive publish/perish scene that's just another version of the attention economy. Or maybe you could just fuck off to be a shepherd, or maybe join a monastery even as a non-believer because I bet they'd let you work in a garden or something.

People in the US today who plan to become cops/teachers/firemen/nurses/clerics will effectively have to be prepared to own nothing, save nothing, have difficulty supporting a family, etc.. and before all that austerity they still must play this ugly little game of permission and predation with loans every step of the way.