You're describing something, but it isn't "wealth". Or, if it is, it's useless. And if wealth is zero-sum, how can we "all end up a good deal 'poorer' than we

You're describing something, but it isn't "wealth". Or, if it is, it's useless. And if wealth is zero-sum, how can we "all end up a good deal 'poorer' than we were before."? NB: that whole sentence seems to be missing an odd number of negations. But here's an indicator you'll like: "Energy Intensity" is, basically, production / energy usage. This was surprisingly stable over most of the 20th century, lending some support to the gist of your objection. But, two good news: (1) it's now on a definitive downward trend, proving that thinking does produce value (yeah!). And (2) renewable energy is rising, meaning that energy usage is now decoupling from the harms you allude to (CO_2 et al).