Who cares about any narrative- we are all just rocket-fuuels burned in the great hedonistic western rocket engine- for progress and the delusion of happiness.

Narratives are for those who have to calm the fuels sloshing around in the tanks - and yes, there is no real alternative to this. There is no need to protect any narrative- just point at japan, which does not take on new rocket fuel and thus will crash and burn.

From a individuals perspective ignoring the narrative- the social contraption you build and protect is a monstrosity. I m sure it makes perfect sense, if you want humanity to go somewhere, before everything falls apart due to resource starvation and long term environment damage.