If we go by health outcomes, I recall reading a paper that found two lows in the modern period of Western Europe, going by height, tooth decay, etc: the first a

If we go by health outcomes, I recall reading a paper that found two lows in the modern period of Western Europe, going by height, tooth decay, etc: the first around 1800, and the second around 1900. The first is explicable by the looming Malthusian pressures of the time, since industrialization had only just kicked off. The second is rather more interesting. By the mid-19th century railroads had connected Europe enough to ensure access to food. People were eating reasonably nutritious fare around 1860-1870. So what happened? The second industrial revolution also saw the processed foods revolution. Waves of canned, baked, dried, and sugared products descended upon the markets for the first time. They were cheap and tasted good, so people made them staples, not knowing how sick it would make them or their kids. And all the while intensified industry was adding more pollutants, people were smoking more, and the automobile and leaded fuel was just coming on the scene. Thus, the average Edwardian Englishman was quite a bit worse off than his Victorian parents in some measures. And...it's been 150 years and while we definitely know the risks of this status quo better, we're still dealing with the consequences. The promise of consumerism is always that engaging with the market will make a better life, and countless critiques have been written of this idea. As you say, we don't really know if we're happier. But we can point to material well-being and make educated guesses.