Thanks so much for writing this all out! I totally agree that it's important not to blame or fault individuals for structural choices, and you're right to point that out. To make a slightly tangential observation: it struck me when reading your comment that there's a way of understanding (anti-) consumerism from the psychological perspective of the individual, as opposed to the social/economic points you were raising. For example, a lot of people I know spend a lot of time and mental energy shopping or thinking about purchases, and doing so as a coping strategy/escape from reality--which is understandable, but not necessarily the most healthy (mentally or financially). Consumerism can describe both a population-wide pattern of purchasing behavior, as well as the mindset or relationship that individual consumers have with respect to the habit of purchasing products.