The citizen of today in every developed country is typically an employee. He works for one of the institutions. He looks to them for his livelihood. He looks to them for his opportunities. He looks to them for access to status and function in society, as well as for personal fulfillment and achievement.

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Source, in full

The citizen of 1900 if employed worked for a small family-type operation; the small pop-and-mom store employing a helper or two; the family household; and so on. And of course, the great majority of people in those days, except in the most highly industrialized countries—such as Britain or Belgium—worked on the farm.

Notes from Wikiquote

Our society has become an employee society. In the early 1900s people asked, “What do you do?” Today they tend to ask, “Whom do you work for?” | p. 4

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Quote text and notes from Wikiquote: Peter Drucker (page history), available under CC BY-SA 4.0. Source quality and labels are our own summary of what Wikiquote records.