Yes, you are correct about the washing machine. Now broaden your scope and think about how that washing machine fits into the bigger picture. Like it’s one brick in a house. The brick might be upgraded, it’s a smaller, tougher brick, maybe even cheaper, but now you need two bricks to make the same house.

There are many inventions that have greatly improved working conditions for people, the washing machine is a great example. That’s not what the original commenter is criticizing. They’re criticizing the larger structure, the house, not the brick.

If there weren’t the washing machine (as well as cheap wrinkle free clothes - eliminating the iron and board and sewing), the microwave, the refrigerator for frozen foods, digital spreadsheets for doing the bills, and so on, the economy would naturally adjust to make affordable a one person income household.

We have all these advancements to save time and effort but the system has likewise adapted, requiring you to spend that extra time now at a job in order to live.

That’s what the original comment was criticizing, this sleight of hand of promises, that sells us one thing but delivers only more work.