It has mostly been reactionary because the cost of being proactive and that most of the active work would likely be associated with national security, which is often outside the public eyes.
Golden age often comes from a nostalgia driven perspective of what life seemed to be at some point. In many cases it involves individuals who had similar views and beliefs which made them feel more comfortable around each other. In other cases, it is just the brain looking for things that made someone feel good, even if it only accounted for a short picture of what the good/service/experience really was.
How many nations are interested in cutting the middleman? How many nations' officials would like to see corruption stop? How many people would prefer to work under dismal conditions as opposed to not having a job? If we are going to blame the the corporation purchasing the goods, we also need to blame ourselves for not doing our very best to source our purchase choices either.
Different societies already find ways to minimize the importance of other humans, it makes sense that it is worse for things that are not considered human.