We're not getting any better - we're getting more and more superficial. I would dare to say that pure "consuming" is one of the post superficial passive-activities that a human can do, and we're getting pushed further into it, every day, bombarded from all sides. The system needs us to consume brainlessly, and it found amazing ways to get us there - it's for good reason that stocks like Meta, Alphabet and Amazon are the best possible investments as they are based on shoving advertisement down our throats. Contrary to foie gras, they don't take out the whole liver at once, but cut it off in pieces, leaving us with just enough to survive (we're not getting thrown away in my point of view - even the ones that fell through the grids still serve as a "bad example" to motivate us to keep grinding).
Secondly, the definition of wealth has been adapted to the needs of our current economic systems. As we're pushed to isolate us from others, removing traditions and narratives, wealth itself has become superficial. It's not what we have anymore, it's what we are able to display and pretend.
Thank you for the post! Got me a little riled up today. I'm getting frustrated with where things are going.