I've used model M IBM keyboards from the 80s that are still fully intact (and fully functional, for that matter).
I've got several Model M's. All of them look fantastic. A few have other issues, but cosmetically you can't tell the difference between the injured ones and the healthy ones.
Model M's use a different kind of plastic though and those keycaps don't need to be translucent. It'd be awesome if Apple used shine resistant doubleshot PBT plastic for their keycaps, but they might not be translucent enough and might be too thick.
I've had many keyboards lose their legends, but few started wearing off as quickly as it did on my previous 2016 MBP and none of them were part of something quite so expensive. The interesting thing is that it didn't happen in the expected pattern. A few letters wore down within months and the rest were fine after two years. On my current 2018, everything's fine after 6 months. Maybe it's a quality control issue.
I think it is more than reasonable to expect the key labels to still be present and in perfect condition after less than 2-3 years of ownership.
I like they current gen of Apple keyboard, but the quality of the keycaps are just appalling. I'm one of those oddballs who buys nicer keycaps to replace the stock keycaps on my external keyboards just for a nicer typing experience. I can't do that on a MBP. Even without the problem of the lettering wearing off, they just feel cheap. I suppose that's the price of thinness.