This is something I have been thinking about (and mindfully being unattached to either side). We know what it's like for society to go through an economic depre

This is something I have been thinking about (and mindfully being unattached to either side). We know what it's like for society to go through an economic depression and how poverty effects developing countries, and I think it's pretty clear if we start wiping out the economy (which is the core of the problem besides over population) the save the planet, we will create one. How many jobs exist/created from engineering, manufacturing, selling, marketing, transporting, and managing crap that we don't need? What would the world look like if we wiped out all of those jobs? How will developing countries be affected when their income from manufacturing these products is drastically reduced? What do we have that replaces plastic for transporting and storing goods/food? Sand (silica?) is expected to become low in supply (e.g. for glass). How many trees would we have to cut down to replace plastic? Part of me is wondering if the route we are currently taking is the best one, because change will happen gradually, giving us time to adapt. A sudden kick to the balls of our the global economy, on the other hand, would have an immediate, devastating impact; especially on developing countries.