We simply cannot sustain a society where everyone is a voracious consumer anymore. Some people will have to simply settle for watching others consume things like cars, fancy homes, foreign travel, etc. and fantasize about it, similar to how people in old days would read travel books and fantasize about far away places they’ll never see. That’s basically the direction we’re heading with social media.
As long as you keep people healthy and sufficiently entertained they will have no desire for that excess consumption that harms the planet. They’ll have daydreams, but they will learn to accept that’s as far as they can go. And they’ll feel good about it, because they will know they are not harming the planet.
https://thehill.com/changing-america/sustainability/climate-...
because IP owners are increasing their 'margins' (increasing the extraction of surplus value, and thus increased labor exploitation) by charging more and more economic rents.
Everything is getting more expensive. More and more people (especially youth) can’t afford a house etc. Some of them will choose to consume less, some will be forced to.
Costs of goods is a real behaviour changer. As externalities like climate change affect costs, behaviour will change. Will it be too late though?