Nah, you're thinking too directly. Private companies can absolutely force you to do anything you don't want to, but they rarely do this - too costly in a system with a somewhat working rule of law - and if they do this, they do it pretty subtly. Examples from all across the spectrum:
- Strong companies can and do force weak governments to adopt whatever policies they want; see e.g. tobacco companies and their fight against health warnings on cigarette boxes. Or private companies and their private armies - happened in the past (e.g. East India Company), happens today (why do you think people kill each other in Africa over tantalum they don't have technological capability to use?).
- Lobbying you mentioned. Doesn't always happen, but happens frequently.
- Various low-level deals and bribery on e.g. city scale.
- Low-skilled jobs. Just talk to people who are stuck with those, especially in smaller cities. Employers can, and routinely do, make them do anything because they basically own them.
So yeah, private companies are not like governments. They can't just go and coerce you to do something in the name of law. But they have lots of less direct ways to coerce people if they really want to. The job of the government is usually to make them not want to.
- Strong companies can and do force weak governments to adopt whatever policies they want; see e.g. tobacco companies and their fight against health warnings on cigarette boxes. Or private companies and their private armies - happened in the past (e.g. East India Company), happens today (why do you think people kill each other in Africa over tantalum they don't have technological capability to use?).
- Lobbying you mentioned. Doesn't always happen, but happens frequently.
- Various low-level deals and bribery on e.g. city scale.
- Low-skilled jobs. Just talk to people who are stuck with those, especially in smaller cities. Employers can, and routinely do, make them do anything because they basically own them.
So yeah, private companies are not like governments. They can't just go and coerce you to do something in the name of law. But they have lots of less direct ways to coerce people if they really want to. The job of the government is usually to make them not want to.