I think it's wrong that revolutions have always ended poorly. In particular two specific examples are the magna carta and the english bill of rights, which certainly made things at least incrementally better for the median englishperson. Of course, neither of those reforms came about at the end of the gun, so one wonders...
Moreover, Jack London was kind of writing very romantically at the time. He had gotten quite fat off the profits of his bookwriting. But It's not entirely clear that he really had sympathy for the working class, well according to the accounts of the laborers on his villa, anyways.
To make another reference, meet the new boss, same as the old boss.
Cynicism is not very appealing, but seems the most realistic.