This is a big topic, I'll try to respond tomorrow. But a central question involved is: what is economics?
In this case, I think it goes beyond economics, and starts playing into fundamental human psychology. Although the two certainly interact, after all, if human psychology wasn't a factor, then Communism would truly be the best economic system to use, hands down.
We're not wired that way. Nature itself isn't wired in that way either. Post-industrial society has some rather fundamental problems it has to contend with and find ways to cope with, or its going to get bad. But not because of proles vs the bourgeois. It isn't even strictly a "first world problem," China is getting hit with it rather brutally right now.
Many things in the natural world seek the path of least resistance.
Even in space, the expression of "Nature abhors a vacuum" is simply another extension of "the path of least resistance" as material rendered into a vaporous form simply seeks to move from a region of comparably high pressure/density(high resistance) to regions of lower pressure/density. (When Gravity or other forces aren't providing additional forms of resistance)
Most Carnivores in nature are preferentially sedentary much of the time(conserving energy) and even predominantly scavengers rather than hunter/killers themselves. But carnivores also tend to boast considerable burst strength and/or speed in order to secure their kills once the time comes. Pursuit predators, like our human ancestors, are more of an anomaly only found in animals that operate in groups/packs. But even then, pursuit predation is again another form of (comparative) energy conservation.
The 19th century peasant farmer didn't have any real significant issue ascribing value or significance to their work. They worked the land to generate a crop which was used to either feed humans, or beasts of burden which in turn helped fellow humans perform readily perceptible tasks. They could
see the fruits of their labors.
Even well into the 20th century, most workers on an assembly line had
tangible things they could point to and say "I did that" in addition to generally being able to
see how that widget made a material difference in somebody's life. Because while even into the 1970's the "commoditized society" has already taken form, it hadn't yet achieved the extreme that we've achieved today.
Everything is a commodity today. And more, the commodities being "traded" on the market is highly interchangeable and
extremely fungible.
It's also a large part of the problems the Millennials have been trying to cope with, and now the Post-Millennial group is now having to contend with.
What can they do which makes them truly matter in this day and age? (workplace morale)
What skills can they bring to bear on a task that several million other people couldn't likewise do the same or better at? (or could be performed by a robot if the employer had the funds and resources available)
What can they do in their personal life to say they left the world in a better place than they found it in? (Social unrest is a part of this--they want to make a difference)
The list goes on and on, but in an age where your job is viewed as a commodity by your employer, that doesn't help. But even if you have one of the few employers that don't treat you like a commodity, you've now been trained to view your services as being such. It leads to rather fatalistic thinking taking hold.
The other compounding factor on top of this is, ironically enough, the destruction of the family unit. Or rather, the destruction of their ability to form
stable family units of their own (rather than falling back on mom and/or dad) in order for them to have a potential "outlet for meaning" to be found there. If nothing else, working to support your spouse and kids is a
reason to press on and keep working. But we've largely commoditized relationships too, so that's out the window for much of the younger workforce as well.
So with the realization you're basically a commodity, and the system just wants to grind you down with no real prospects for an escape. Why fight it? Just let go, half-ass your work life, earn just barely enough to get by, and spend the rest of your time trying to find some quick adrenaline hit playing video games or surfing the web online and join some #mobs so you can feel like you're #makingadifference.
