Civilized lands suffer famine, plague, oppression, poverty, and all the ills that pre-industrial society had to offer. The poor are poor. The people have little power, and wouldn’t know what to do with it if they had it. Honest labor perhaps allows one a bite to eat and a roof against the rain, maybe, but it is not in any way a guarantee of a life. Player Characters have the wealth to be above the worst of it, but surely they want to escape such drudgery – else why become an adventurer?