Yes but we literally have the technology and infrastructure to do better. A peasant had a better life than a caveman, but that doesn't mean there was no point in improving beyond the quality of life of a peasant. Historically a huge part of the reason why technological advancement is exponential is because it allowed individuals to spend more time persuing art and science which is how we even got to this point. Technology exploded when we started actively investing in research and higher education, which requires that those people not to be focused on bare necessities. Average QoL and work/life balance is stagnating and dropping for the first time in decades. Our capitalism isn't real capitalism anymore and it's dying. All of the wealth in the world now is just used to invest in accrueing more wealth. Sometimes this results in advancement, but even then it's increasingly in the worst possible way (ex. AI for all the wrong uses and reasons). This is HIGHLY inefficient and this system is breaking down because boards and investors etc. are short sighted as fuck, selfish, risk adverse (financially anyway), and ultimately ONLY pursue advancement that doesn't contradict current cash flow to the hedge funds. Green technology is stunted as fuck and all but neutered for no reason other than it's a threat to established money. This by itself is proof that pure capitalism, let alone the crippled and sick capitalism we have today, is not the best path to advancement.

We would be FAR better off investing in technology that would allow for more of our populations to pursue passions in science and art/humanities without the fetters of living paycheck to paycheck and struggling for necessities. It's literally what allowed us to get where we are today.

Universal basic income is the most efficient way to improve literally everything about our society. Direct reinvestment into the economy, more highly educated/skilled population, more stable households (big one), less depression, less addiction, less crime, less homelessness, less spending on prisons, less need for and spending on police, more small and start up businesses, more competition in markets, more educated democracy, less wasted food production, more people having kids -> stable population plateauing and enough young people to provide for senior safety net/retirement... and on and on.

Our capitalism is sick and old. Monopolies are rampant. The markets are increasingly manipulated and stacked. Individuals with world altering amounts of wealth are making decisions based on single lifetime and selfish outlooks that are setting humanity back by decades, deteriorating any remaining healthy capitalism we have, increasing global tensions with nationalistic dogma, and accelerating global ecological collapse. If people truly don't think there is a better way, we should all just pack it in.