When was a time that life wasn't a pay-to-play game? I'd argue that today, the "pay-to-play" cost is the cheapest it has ever been for the largest number of people on earth.
All until the last 100 years or so. Back when you could still reasonably survive on sustenance farming in the middle of nowhere. Today, there is no middle of nowhere anymore - wherever you go, there are people there, and an economy, and taxes to pay.