> In history books, you get a sense sometimes that there were eras in which stuff like this sent people into the streets in rages. In which governments were voted out or overthrown, in which meaningful legislative responses were made. Or, you know, riots.

I think your somberness comes from an idealized, perhaps even fanciful look at the Human Condition. Personally speaking riots and even street demos against this are not what is needed here, but rather a significant amount of Human Capital into opting out of this system and creating a viable alternative.

Your pessimism is a symptom of a much bigger problem, not the source of the illness. Once you realize that you cannot reform this system you will be able to re-direct your energy toward that end and maybe find solace in the fact that we still live in the best time to be alive, if only because the amount of possibilities.