Why do you think it "needs" a complete rethink? We've had periods in relatively recent history in which many people simply live in cramped conditions and work d

Why do you think it "needs" a complete rethink? We've had periods in relatively recent history in which many people simply live in cramped conditions and work dusk until dawn (see Victorian Britain). I think it's far more likely that there's a general reduction in standard of living for everyone below the 90/95/99th percentile. There's not really any pressure to prevent it, people just keep waking up every morning and going to work regardless of how bad it gets. 10-15 years ago when I graduated we had basically the same situation - the bar to win has just been raised. You either aim to be in the top 10/5/1% (adjust as necessary), or you have a life of struggling to pay the bills forever.