Yes, that was (sort of) my point. As is implicitly clear from your piece (whether intentionally or not), the vicious cycle of consumerism is at this moment breakable only at the level of consumer. So, the systems are not that "beyond our control now." After all, the systems are us.

And just a short remark -- if pandemic showed us something (in addition to many people's true colors), it's the fact how much our indulgences influence the environment. A mere month into the lockdown, I was able to see a sky without smog for the first time in many, many years. One single month. But yeah, the outcries of junkies from all walks of life for the normal of our usual La Grande Bouffe are hard to un-hear.