I could not disagree more. Our "stuff" is so much better than it was before. Would you choose to drive a 1982 Chrysler La Baron versus a 2025 Toyota Prius? A 2025 Prius is objectively a better car than any car in existence in the 1980s. Clothes last longer and are made more efficiently than in the 1990s which places less burden on the environment. Technology? Two devices replace a dozen 1970's devices (stereo, record player, phone, ...). Cookware is made more efficiently out of better materials. You don't need forever chemical teflon to have a non-stick pan these days.