“Labor is the fabled magician's wand, the philosophers stone, and the cap of good fortune.”

In a very narrow scope of hindsight on specific cases, an accurate observation. Here, another observation comes to mind: "The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results."

When and where Life is honored and Liberty prevails, a reflective of reality observation.

In totalitarian and authoritarian polities,
the inverse is true, characteristically.

I like it.  The world works because of the sum total of everyone's labor — the 'government' does not produce at all, it merely attempts to control, usually to fix the game in their favor.  Trying to control masses of humanity is the goal of totalitarians — as soon as that is accomplished, most 'good fortune' is stopped and funneled to the top of the pyramid.

Labor, is, what it lends itself too. Whether good or bad. 
" The laborer is worth his due." Labor is not the "philosophers stone", though many would ponder the profitability of labor. ill gotten gains are soon lost, to the providing of the needs, for the poor and needy. 

Force times distance labor is specifically the creation of the human being and the accompanying supporting environment.