Very well written, by the way. I often agree with this.
However, ironically, I think people with this actually have quite an unrealistic view of what people would be doing otherwise. So you're in a system? Sure, it's not human nature to want to be trapped in a system (and personally I don't think we are trapped), but this isn't productive, it's an impulse.
This system of consumerism is the product of the near eradication (from the UK so far) of war, disease, absolute poverty, famine, and by proximity all the things that came with them that produced 'meaning'. What does it mean to be validated? Half the people in the UK over the last thousand years would give anything to live in the UK today, but as soon as we have the basics of equality and survival we complain about it and go on about 'meaning' whilst happily eating doughnuts and driving a car. [The latter was directed towards Ham22 more, because the OP mentions poverty specifically].
Poverty is very real, but relative poverty will always be real. I don't see how we can do more than give everybody free education, have a benefits system, and have a minimum wage. Apart from kick start the economy and provide more jobs, which can't happen overnight. I know it's easy to say when you're not in poverty, but there has been a lot of progress.
Would you rather be down a salt mine? Watching your tenth child die of typhus? Being hacked to death by members of a rival castle? A 'free' life takes on a glossy view because we don't experience it.
Life is what you make it. Don't wait for someone to give it meaning. You can't have no system - anarchy is fundamentally flawed - but this one is about as good as it's possible to get. I would be very interested to hear an alternative.