In the Depths of Despair

An interesting thing about this post and its subsequent comments is the idea of how, even if you invest in your work to lead a more comfortable life, you are obliged to succeed according to the desires set forth by society. There are very few people who work solely for themselves, with no hint of outside approval- it is simply too uncomfortable, and the sort of socially mobile society we live in was built around human needs for security, as Declan said. There is a specific vision of success that we work for, a vision that can "blind" us from seeing how we truly live. To a certain extent, however, we can only be fooled by a false vision for so long.
"He would be too blinded by opportunity to note or care about his state of being. Furthermore, even if he did take note that he lived a miserable life devoted solely to wage labor, he would be able to justify this life in his belief that he will soon be rewarded for his labor with a more stable and pleasant position in society." Marx believed that the workers would come into a self-consciousness, where they could see the true slavery of their existence. If the worker has been pushed to edge of his tolerance, and is truly working for subsistence with no hope of promotion, then there must come despair and an attempt to change the system. There is no hope of a reward in a wage labor system, only the survival from day to day. If conditions hit rock bottom, a situation I personally cannot even imagine myself in, ambition to succeed with the system as is will falter, and the urge to reform the system (or even replace it) will grow. The scenario you put forth can only work if people believe that there is a way up. If they see no way up, they have nothing to lose.
"When work is seen as a means to an end, the workers labor will seize to be Marx’s “forced” labor but instead be voluntary labor, as the worker imagines his labor helping fulfill his vision of a better life." I think the key word here is "imagines." If the vision that the laborer sees turns out not to be real, will he not in turn be disillusioned? I am not arguing that a revolution is inevitable, but I do think a situation where society is not fluid and does not even appear to yield to amibition should be more carefully considered. Americans have their Dream, but others may not.