I would say by definition, as in most societies, those who were actually making a living were surely not the ones living in squalor, especially by comparison to

I would say by definition, as in most societies, those who were actually making a living were surely not the ones living in squalor, especially by comparison to those whose conditions were much more unfavorable. Nobody had modern medicine or electricity that far back anyway. By now there's no reason for anyone urban or rural to do without medicine or electricity unless their society is consuming more than it produces, or is handling surplus in unbalanced ways. Maybe paradise would be more within reach if those little problems could be overcome.