I agree with all of you, spot on.
what I don't agree with is the notion that there are people steering all of this - puppetmasters. this would give too much credit to the human (un-)ability to control complex systems. we are puppets without a puppetmaster, dancing how these idea-matrices are telling us to; ideas that say that money has inherent value, that the economy has to grow perpetually (every child can see that this is silly), that money is an end in itself. it's completely idiotic and destroying our planet, relationships and everything else it comes in touch with.
I've been playing a lot with the thought of becoming self-sufficient, but I think it is of little value to drop out while rome is burning. this is not to say that self-sufficiency isn't good, it's still a dream of mine, but I doubt its use. few people are willing to go back to growing their own food, to completely rely on themselves. our relationship to money and economy ought to undergo a transformation to something that serves and connects us, as it was meant in the beginning, not something that enslaves and separates us like right now.
the first step that I'm certain is paramount to bring about change is to learn about all of these matters, what money is, how it works, why things are the way they are, to examine your beliefs and relationship to money. the next step however,... I don't know. certainly anger and revolutions won't do us much good, as any revolution showed.
maybe I'm smarter in a few days, I started reading a book on exactly that topic that blows my mind right now. I don't like advertising stuff on here, but I can recommend "Sacred Economics" by Charles Eisenstein to all of you. there are some excerpts on
Reality Sandwich