Ethics isn't a black and white thing and people feel differently globally about whats ethical.
Take copyright. That's a western thing, but personally I think we can do without. I like China's ethics on copyright even though most westerners would disagree.
I'm going to be honest. As an American it feels like my government is not in check. Not at all. They are failing to represent the wishes of constituents.
I too feel like the person you replied to. Why can't our goverment get with the times and create infrastructure to support the new global economy.
I've been asking myself this also. We have the ability to be more productive(vastly). The question is how much more productive can we be without reaching the asymptote that represents environmental death.
I think we have reached a critical junction where we must pause and consider our environmental and social impacts first and foremost. We evolved divine conscious to protect diversity of all kinds. Our failures and successes will lead to further propagation. Before we were the dominant species on this planet biodiversity was thriving. Our goals should be to seek further diversity in information, life, and living systems. Success is not guaranteed in our lifetime, but guaranteed in infinity. We should do our best though.
Some people think they are here already. Terrence Mckenna proposed that spores are one such possible Von Neumann vessel. Spores are very resilient and could possibly travel the universe. Time is irrelevant to a fungi. I haven't finished reading his thoughts, but I think he's onto something to be honest. You can read more about this in the "Archaic Revival" Really great text for changing your existential perspective. Very intelligent man.
Elon Musk is a great example of how consolidated wealth an individual has can have a large impact on outcomes.
It's not all bad news, but there are things going on with consolidated wealth that are very concerning right now.