Bad Cat, it's really quite simple. As basic free market economics teaches us, people tend to act in ways that increase leisure. Therefore, in any prosperous society, we should (and do) see people moving away from what they HAVE to do towards what they WANT to do.

While some enjoy productive pursuits, most simply wish to eat, sleep and own stuff that they believe will make them look superior to others.

Some science fiction stories address this issue. Starship Troopers, for example, only gives franchise rights (the right to vote and hold office to Portland readers) to those who have served in the military and have been honorably discharged. In one (animated) Star Trek episode, Vulcans must pass through an ordeal, a "rite of passage" from which some do not return. Some real life societies, such as Sparta and to some extent Rome had similar cultures.

Perhaps, for a prosperous society to survive, such "rites of passage" must be incorporated within the societal structure for that society to survive.