Part of my point is that this helplessness about the expected outcome is a choice. If everyone is sitting back waiting for "signs", nothing will change for the better.

History is full of examples of situations like this being corrected, at least to an extent. If we learn from those, we can do even better next time around.

Btw, the inequality you mention is far worse in the US than Europe. Here's one source that covers this: https://wid.world/es/news-article/why-is-europe-more-equal-t...

This demonstrates a point that should be obvious, that better societal choices can produce better outcomes.