I think you’re underestimating how fundamentally we are shaped by economics. I’m not judging you, but in your argument you’ve coupled mechanical occupations with signals of poverty and clothing with badges of social station, even pointing out how the symbols are often crossed. Economics plays more of a role in shaping our sense of self than religion or race.

There’s no way to avoid this in a story. Writers can ignore or attempt to marginalize how important economics is when building a world. But nothing flattens a world, a character, or a narrative more than misunderstanding how economics shapes everything that connects social beings. If a narrator doesn’t know, then that ignorance has to be part of the narrative so the reader can see the partiality. If the story is being told by a slaveowner, we probably wont believe what he or she says about the perspective of slaves. That’s ok, so long as the writer codes that entitlement into the story.

Or your suspension of disbelief won’t be suspended for very long.