I agree with you on that, late stage capitalism in full bloom. I was thinking about the time multiple decades ago, at the beginning of the last century.

It is really sad to see that we as a society are past our prime in multiple areas. At least when looking at it from a “western” perspective. And when I consider the political climate it seems that things have to get a whole lot worse before they can get better. I resonate with the shower thought.

That has always been the case. I’d even say it got easier in the last decades, in general. That does not mean people are no longer struggling, of course.