In many ways I think the industrial revolution has made us forget a very important historical fact. Prior to industrialization, "labor" was often little more than serfdom. "Labor" in the purest sense didn't own anything, but was simply a necessary component for the wealth-producing activities of those who did. Laborers only had one economic move: to offer their time and hands in the service of those who owned things (land, a shop, a ship, etc) in return for a wage. That wage, effectively their value as laborers, was determined by the law of supply and demand. All the industrial revolution did was to vastly increase the demand for labor.

However, the ancient fact that one's existence as more than a serf required ownership of something did not change. The living standards of serfs simply improved dramatically. Those living standards still depended on the demand for labor being high and/or the supply low.

When technology reduces the demand for labor, while the supply increases due to population growth, it's easy to think that the economic sky is falling. But since none of us have lived in a pre-industrial revolution era, we are accustomed to thinking of wage-earning labor as an economic strategy that is more common than ownership of property, and just as valid. But historically it has been a specialized and risky economic strategy, and as the demand for labor-intensive physical products decreases it should not be surprising if those who are dependent on this economic strategy suffer. It may be tragic, but it's certainly not a new tragedy.

If you want long term economic security, own something.