You never hear anyone dispute that certain assets ARE exempt from creditors.
Homesteads, Retirement, certain classes of wages, Insurance anuities, and others are outside the perview of creditors.
The purpose of bankruptcy is to give people a chance are financial rebirth. As a society we have agreed that bankruptcy should exist. It is also limited to only once every seven years. (btw do you know how FAST credit card companies send preapproved cards to the just bankrupt?!!)
The founding fathers wanted to end the horrors of debtor prisons, it even preceeded the bill of rights. (you never hear about disputes in appointing bankruptcy judges. Bankruptcy court is supposed to be non-adversarial for the most part.)
In adding to your comment, if you read many of the super fine print you see there is a "bankruptcy provision" clause in the contract which waives your bankruptcy protections. The code provides such clauses are void as a matter of law no matter how voluntary. In some states you can't even waive homestead voluntarily.
The practice of dropping preapproved card applications into people's mail should be prohibited. It is a gross breach of the (intended) recipient's security.