Your third point is quite solid. People support capitalism for only one reason—they actually really do believe they are temporarily embarrassed capitalists, just one job away from some Prince Charming mentor figure discovering their talent being “wasted” at the bottom and lifting them into the C-suite. In truth, of course, the system sees them as being right where they belong.

This “overproduction” crisis is a war between the outer capitalist party and the inner one, the former being a powerless but once comfortable buffer class the real elite has decided it wants to try living without.

Technological changes and globalization have led the actual economic elite to decide they no longer need a large middle class (outer party). This is not about overproduction. Supply isn’t changing. It’s demand going to zero that is creating the problem.

> People support capitalism for only one reason—they actually really do believe they are temporarily embarrassed capitalists

That's not true. I support capitalism because it objectively produces more wealth than competing systems.

(But I also think that capitalism needs to be regulated. Capitalism is a tool, and like any tool, it can be used both constructively and destructively.)

You bring up art schools, and you’re right. The influence economy is the same way. You don’t win by trying to become elite. The actual winning strat is to sell other people a fantasy of becoming elite. Hence overproduction of markers that were once elite but have been debased and diluted to oblivion.

Probably a variation on selling shovels and pick axes to miners rather than going to prospect for gold yourself. And there's probably actually a variant of that with the influencer economy. The ad-supported sites, microphone and camera manufacturers, etc. have almost certainly made more money than the "influencers" themselves.