Or maybe they have been mercilessly trampled underfoot by a corporatist political system on a well funded and organized campaign to crush organized labor, prevent national health insurance, and remove support systems for the working class. There's nothing inevitable about this.

What's inevitable is that they were going to lose. Life is a struggle of all against all. For some people to win, others have to lose.

In no way is it nearly as settled as your sweeping generalization suggests. Pareto-efficient outcomes exist for so many things, why should they not for society?

It should terrify all those who believe they are safe from this type of thing. Most on this forum are doing well, but there could come a time when they look upon all the people judging them for not having the 'obvious' foresight to prepare for economic changes. Thats the fun thing about economic changes, sometimes they don't go the way that the "experts" expect. Even the smartest people predict wrong.