Hope or not, the SHTF future is on its way. There are some paths ahead that I don't think any of the Brilliant Minds comprehend, but they may improve our sense of agency by default. Head count reductions will force some kind of social support for everyone (UBI), and that forces the recalibration of almost all systems to ask "What can people do if we're paying them anyway?"

At some point, the lassaiz leaders will have to assert some agency or get eaten. By hook or crook, the present systems of the mean Mean keep bullies in power by default, but when the money is no longer able to make all of our decisions for us (hyperinflation), leadership will be driven to actually lead people, not sell their 'data'