It has never been easier to exploit the poor and powerless than it is in today's world. That doesn't mean, that in modern society that conditions for poor people are the worst of all-time, they aren't physically for the most part, but it does mean that the elite of the world, recognizing the massive numbers of people that are impoverished, are best seen as resources to be exploited and plundered, and despite the fact that the sheer numbers of poor people massively outweighs the relatively few numbers of the oligarchy, the battle is not fair, not equal, and almost entirely favors the ruling class.
In order to keep any population down there are basic factors that the autocracy must have in their control and for the most part they have these very things such as their ownership or heavy influence of the media, the police/military, the justice system, property, food, assets, and the banking world. In most countries, poor people have no real access to weapons that the police or that the military have in their possession, and even if poor people have handguns and the like, their overall firepower is pathetically small in comparison to the might, organization, experience, logistics, and the power of the police/military state. Additionally, if all land is own by the government or it is controlled by elite privileged people, than poor people have no sanctuary anywhere, to protect themselves from the ravishing of the government set upon them. So too, unless you are self-sufficient in providing food for your family through hunting or gathering, the State will hold you hostage to the availability of food, safe water, and other necessities needed to just survive. Through it all, if the media and/or airwaves are controlled or heavily influenced by the State, than the misinformation disseminated to you, will be manipulated in such a way as to try to keep you passive and complacent with the State's desires.
There are those that naively believe that because there are so many poor people, that a democratic uprising can occur, so that the people can get what is rightfully theirs. The fact of the matter is, unless, you have a great moral cause, or unless you somehow are able to appeal to the good conscience of those that hold power above you, that the people enacting such an uprising are inevitably crushed. The few times when there is an apparent passing of power from the oligarchy to the "people", through some sort of revolution or whatnot, the "people" often find that to their dismay when they "meet the new boss, [it's the} same as the old boss," and they will get fooled again and again.
The government is force, and until such time when that the government relinquishes such force, the boot of the State upon the necks of the people, will be felt. Some governments make sure that the people are held in utmost abjection and misery, while others do a much better job of selling the illusion that the streets may yet be paved with gold. The governments that last longer are the ones that make the virtual prisons that they keep the poor people in, relatively comfortable, with few demands, and a few false flags for them to rally around, hoping that the impoverished believe that this is some sort of freedom, when it is, in fact, dependence.