I think there's a degree of moving goalposts here.

A mid-XIX-century worker could die of hunger if they lost their job. There wouldn't be any social services or boarding houses for poor to feed their children, and their wife - you know. OK, I mean, there were boarding houses, but that was even worse than growing up in a poor family.

An early-XX-century worker was still in similar danger, but there were both organized labor and changing level of life. Working their way out of poverty being real and a lot more accessible press and education were some of the changes from the previous. And political rights too.

A mid-XX-century worker could basically live normally through hard work. And one could say that both in Warsaw block and in the West social nets were in place. In the third world not yet. !@#, me and writing about hard work.

"Wage slavery" of a person who'll die of hunger and of a person who'll feel bad from looking poor, but will have socialized options for food, board and even help with looking for a job, are two very different situations.

So let's please remember that we, Americans included, already sort of live in a socialist heaven compared to 100 years ago.

I think humanity is improving.