There is no monopoly without govt protection. No one requires that you work for anyone. You choose to work for & support orgnaizations that exist at your expense because you prioritize security over your principles. There are also cheap places to live with electric cooperatives, I know because I live near one.

There are 2 ways to deal with people:
voluntarily or coercively
trade or criminal/political authority

The closer we have gotten to capitalism (severely limiting political authority), the better conditions have been for the average person & people have flocked to those places from all over the world.

Every attempt at communism has produced slave camps, starvation, & conditions resembling hell on earth.

As things have gone down hill in the US it has been because of the growth in political authority disrupting trade.

The divide between capitalism & communism could not be larger.