On the one hand “work or starve” pretty much sums up the natural human condition for most of humanity for most of known history. On the other hand our technological and social development in part allow us to subvert or mitigate the “natural condition-“ with efficient resource management there is not a compelling argument as to why people need to starve at all in the modern world- especially the modern developed world asides from arguments that use starvation as a form of population control or motivation to comply to a social standard.
That being said, specific to the USA as the flag is in the meme, not only could we easily supply enough for our entire population simply from what we waste in food and most other resources- to be clear I mean waste as in throw out- not wasteful consumption- so without anyone having to actually consume less; but in America few if any people really will starve if they don’t work unless they literally do nothing.
Using the aforementioned food waste as an example, simply scavenging food waste is generally sufficient for survival. Malnutrition, hunger, both are still real concerns, but the majority of people have our basic needs met better than almost any comprable socioeconomic group in history. This doesn’t mean that we have no starvation or hunger or no one lacks basic needs or struggles to meet them, and it also doesn’t mean we can’t do better. That’s what advancement is about generally- doing better. It’s just that sentiments like these are often middle class fears from people who do not actually have such dramatic problems and likely never have. A large part of why “peasant uprising” and such has not caught on in the USA is because it isn’t a “peasant class” that generally has these sorts of complaints but a middle class upset that steak prices force them to eat chicken or ground beef several days a week. People who have anxiety about losing their social position if they stop competing..
.. because they occupy a position that many people want and doesn’t require much in the way of special ability or skill or output to achieve. People who are appeared from the “peasant class” primarily by luck or inborn advantages wether they care to admit those things or not, or argue how they are self made because they believe that only rich people have privilege or advantage. To the point of this meme- simply having parents who can read or aren’t hooked on street drugs are life advantages not everyone is born with and can help shape one’s life and separate someone truly in danger of starvation from someone who just can’t eat well all the time. Yes- a cashier or fast food worker or tradesperson etc. can have “advantage,” you don’t need to be rich or white collar.
The “peasant revolt” we see comes in forms like gangs and crime of necessity that often balloon into criminal culture. This often isn’t truly revolt as in many cases drugs, crime, poverty, have been engineered as a matter of record and historical fact by the government within certain communities in order to cripple meme era abilities to participate in society at large. In that sense, feeding into that criminal cycle is playing into the desires of those forces that sought to repress these communities and is actually a measure of self regulation. The middle class doesn’t revolt or resort to such things in large groups because they know they have things good. At the end of the day the average person can’t really see their life being vastly improved through some sort of revolt. So it’s basically edge lord whining.
That being said, specific to the USA as the flag is in the meme, not only could we easily supply enough for our entire population simply from what we waste in food and most other resources- to be clear I mean waste as in throw out- not wasteful consumption- so without anyone having to actually consume less; but in America few if any people really will starve if they don’t work unless they literally do nothing.