What value?
The 99% have little or no value. Lets sail with that.
I noticed, having skimmed through the whole thing, that the beginning started with boats.
About , say, 10 years into my marriage, we were down at one of the beach cities, hanging out, and saw a ridiculously low price for quite a respectable boat. I don’t really remember it that well, but it did have space , it was furnished and back then we had credit. At any rate, it was a golden opportunity to a hands on possession of a real dream that never happened. It became a signpost of a yet to be chronic downward spin on lifestyle.
Value? The spin itself was a signpost to a grappling with running , in order to just stay put.
What is that like? , most know, what it feels like, and some even what it looks like.
It becomes an illusion , you thinking you are moving ahead, yet things are really moving ahead while you think you are moving with it. Actually you are left behind.
How does that work& where keeping up takes all the energy, a serious case of myopia sets in, blinkers on, and angling for the finish becomes the primal focus. The very fast appearing nearside dismisses the progressive slowing of the far, and far from the maddening crowd, you alone become your own target: ambitions, and the works.
What value , where, the rat race, I think you bring that up in your middle part, again reference to Your pages, what possible value, where you the consumer, gleaning some part in the hierarchy, can value be seen?
Saw a movie ‘Mosquito Island’ years ago, and a similar one with Michael Douglas, forgot the name will look it up, (Falling down) and relay it, where people fed up take matters into their own hands, mostly with disasterous results.