The history of the company town is not all negative. Many company model towns were truly built to provide a better quality of life for workers, albeit with some very paternalistic overtones and often a desire to make them better workers as well.
Interestingly, the modern US military base still often resembles a company town. While not perfect, my impression is that life isn't worse then off base.
You're a lower enlisted. You live in an apartment complex, sharing a stairwell with 5 other lower enlisted families. One of you is tagged as stairwell coordinator. It's now your job to get everyone in that stairwell to clean the area regularly. If you fail, your boss hears about it.
You get promoted, you're now given duplex housing in the NCO housing area. You now have a yard. Your grass grows too long. The military police ticket you, and notify your supervisor.
You goto the store on post. A coworker is there. He's with some girl who isn't his wife.
You goto the dining facility. You have to go to the dining facility because your paycheck is automatically deducted $300+ a month because you are forced to have a meal card, regardless of how often you eat there.
Just a few examples from people I know. Everyone tries to get statement of non-availability so they can live off base.
The opportunity of company towns is the opportunity of dictatorships: with fewer decision makers, longer-sighted decision can be rammed through.
For example, California could presumably make better housing decisions if existing property owners didn't get a say.
That said, the weaknesses of dictatorships obviously apply equally. A benevolent dictator leads to great happiness; a terrible one leads to hell that can only be overthrown by revolution.
