A thought provoking post, although I think the proposal is ultimately way off track.
YES, doing SOME menial labor is a valuable experience for everyone.
But doing other sorts of labor is also VERY valuable as an experience.
For instance, doing "pink collar" work where you have to deal with people blaming you for mistakes made by others (or the flagrant immorality of others) is also valuable.
But maybe some of that is an artifact of a corrupt society… still learning to DEAL with a multifarious array of people is quite good.
I'm inclined to think it might be a VERY good thing if the option of doing unskilled manual temp work was the societal norm.
I recall an episode of The Wire where a black ex-con was trying to "go straight" but when he went to the "work truck" it was all immigrants (probably illegal) and he didn't fit in at all.
But maybe that SHOULD be an experience we all have… and some artists/intellectuals could even live off it. (Instead of trying to sell their souls..)
I've heard many restaurants won't even hire native Americans for the kitchen as they won't fit in…. ABSURD!
Things weren't always this way.