Two terms that I think might help understanding the existential questions:

Anthropocentrism

Net Future Usefulness

The whole question of Industrialization is one of Consumerist enabling. Even before that, the process of consumptionism was well entrenched, but it was powered by slavery. The Industrial Revolution converted dead sea creatures into our slaves, but the basic concept of anthropocentric extractionism is always there.

The question of Industrialization is just the 'engineering' of human civilization, not the philosophical goal.

The real question is whether Nature thinks humans are worth anything. Apparently, she did at one time, or we wouldn't exist. There were niches to fill, seeds to spread, etc. Life finds a way.

Do humans give more than we take to the places that created us?

The flow of resources up the civilization pyramid scheme is backward and mostly based on competing uselessness.

We can choose to reverse it if we are intentional toward our future survival, or we can just keep going with the blind consumption and Faith in an Invisible Hand that keeps humans fighting each other for the different layers of the pyramid.

"The opposite of consumption is not frugality; it is generosity."-Raj Patel

The opposite of industrial civilization feeding bank accounts is industrial civilization feeding future environmental needs.