There was no fake pity. I feel genuinely sorry for people that think that their value is only monetary.

It is only part of the world (or even the US) that behaves like this. And there's nothing given that says that the parts that do must. We can as a society choose differently.

And the problem with your solutions (not that they are bad in themselves), is that they will never gain traction while people believe that the economy is the end and not a means. It is easy to argue against socialism, et c., if you think that the economy is the only thing that matters. But it is hard to argue for the current system if you believe that what matters is people in themselves, not the role they play in the current capitalistic system.