The underlying problem here might as well be considered a fundamental shortcoming of pure/fundamental capitalism. I make no claims about the value of alternativ

The underlying problem here might as well be considered a fundamental shortcoming of pure/fundamental capitalism. I make no claims about the value of alternatives, or even if there are any (better ones, that is). Anything that is (no longer) of commercial value will be "phased out" and dismantled/destroyed. One might still stretch it a bit, by arguing that the commercial value of something can include its future potential value. But I personally know not a single commercial companies that ever choose that over short term cost reductions and "profit optimizations". Luckily, there are governments who acknowledge this shortcoming and build structures to compensate for it. But when governments decide to leave (almost) everything to commercial markets, then the importance of anything and everything can and will only be measured by it's commercial (contemporary) value/profitability. People have every right to vote for and support such a system. But then don't complain, when all that you will get is only what such system supports/provides.