I got mine vs an infinitely sustainable long term stable system, is not really an economic problem its a cross cultural human problem for as far back as we have records (or archeology, it seems).

So, no, the economy not being on a survivable path is not really all that unusual of a situation for humanity in general. You'd be amazed what extracting and burning or otherwise disposing of an impossible to replace resource can do to boost a declining economy. "cheap oil" or "cheap fertilizer" masks a lot of problems... for awhile...