You can quibble about 'better' I guess, or make a fallacy of composition, but by nearly every measurable metric humanity is broadly better off as a species post-industrialization.

Again zero actually said just assertions to challenge the system.

For the miller, yes (kindof), for the person who couldn't afford a mill, no. Their best hope was to sell their kid off as a 'apprentice' to the miller.

Of course the miller could only expand/improve their setup as much as their own skillset allowed, greatly reducing productivity which, spread out across the entire economy, provided a much lower standard of living.