I agree almost 100% with everything you just said. There are those who wish to return to the Gilded Age. They are supported, wittingly or unwittingly, by the elements in society you mentioned. They do use (twist) the arguments about economics you suggest.

I just don't think we're anywhere near that point, or that we will get anywhere near it. There has been far too much progress away from that time for society to ever devolve back to it. People, and most politicians, would never tolerate such a radical backslide, no matter how gradual. Too many laws and regulations have been put in place. Technology has advanced too far. Education has become far more widespread. Mobility of labor has made such severe exploitation of labor impractical.

And the elements of society that may want a return to that dystopian world are not as widespread and monolithic as you seem to think. There are plenty amoung the elite capitalist class who understand that they are wealthier when there is a large middle class. If people have disposable income, they buy things like cars, TVs durable goods, etc. They go on vacations and spend, and this lifts society as a whole. The existence of a large middle class allows the rich to get richer from it. Not everyone thinks this way but more than enough are aware of the reality of it.