AAQ – It was Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai who hid in a cave, not as a way of life, but to escape being killed by the Romans.
“Chairs, food from the store, and phones without wires” are luxuries enjoyed by almost everyone who isn’t homeless, and some who are…
“Roads without manure” are freely available in all of the developed world except for Gaza and San Francisco…
“This price can be paid either by working or serving.” You are mixing two completely different issues. Globally, the vast majority of Chareidim work. (Unless you define ‘Chareidi’ in No-True-Scotsman style as ‘full time learning’.) They also pay most of their limited income to feed, clothe, and be מחנך the next generation of כלל ישראל, and the only reliable guarantee of a Jewish majority in Israel. Chilonim, in the best case scenario, ‘pay their dues’ for three years, and then do what they want for the remainder of their lifetime, which doesn’t necessarily go together with maintaining a Jewish majority in the Land. What about sharing THAT burden, which is so much bigger?