> and the harvests aren't any more arduous they are, in some ways. Efficiency gains can mean you work less, but they more often mean you have less people doing

> and the harvests aren't any more arduous they are, in some ways. Efficiency gains can mean you work less, but they more often mean you have less people doing the same work. Back then one peasant had much less land to cultivate, a third of all fields were fallowed each year, and 90% of the population worked in farming. Now it's more like 10% and in some countries even less than that. The problem with being a peasant wasn't the hard work - it was the constant risk of starvation or sickness killing you and your family. So they optimized for lowering the risks instead of optimizing for better profits or more free time. > even by the people who left the village for jobs in sweatshops Sweatshops are harder work but less risks than farming.