[falcolas]

> Subsistence hunter-gatherers and subsistence farmers were put out of work by cheaper agriculture systems, and some of those unemployed realized they could support themselves by reading books to other people,

The replacement of hunter-gatherers by farming is a change that took centuries to take hold. Nobody lost their ability to feed their family because their ability to hunt and gather was automated away. Ironically, the move away from hunter/gatherer subsistence took free time away (for things like storytelling) instead of adding to it, in exchange for greater reliability in their sustenance.

The loss of entire swaths of employment is a fairly new development. As is the lack of safety nets (US Centric for obvious reasons) for those who become injured or otherwise unable to sustain themselves.