The article explicitly addresses this. Crushing inequality was often a side-effect of industrial advancement, and while it always went away in the past it took a lifetime to do so.

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mrguyorama an hour ago | parent [-]

>Crushing inequality was often a side-effect of industrial advancement, and while it always went away in the past

Historically, inequality is only significantly reduced through events of extreme destruction, like the Black Plague and the world wars.

In other words, a society that ever lets massive inequality happen is just doomed. High inequality reliably stays that way until insane global black swans mildly correct it.

	▲	smallmancontrov an hour ago \| parent [-]
		The USA is in the fortunate position of being able to look to our past for the best example of inequality crisis management: we didn't wind up with a Stalin or a Hitler because we had a Roosevelt. We could use another.