> Want to know what food and housing was like before regulation? Read the jungle.
Not convincing since you're reducing the entire time period to The Jungle which was sensationalized fiction, effectively political propaganda.
But to your broader point, things improved directly from capitalism and markets. My reading recommendation? Deirdre McCloskey "Why Liberalism Works" on the absurd increase in living standards brought about through innovation enabled by capitalism, we're talking some 3,000% in average income over the course of time you're referring to.
Not convincing since you're reducing the entire time period to The Jungle which was sensationalized fiction, effectively political propaganda.
But to your broader point, things improved directly from capitalism and markets. My reading recommendation? Deirdre McCloskey "Why Liberalism Works" on the absurd increase in living standards brought about through innovation enabled by capitalism, we're talking some 3,000% in average income over the course of time you're referring to.