I don't disagree that it's an accurate portrayal of reality. And of course, as I made clear in my post, I don't know if they're actually a burnt out nihilist.

My issue with the article is maybe more that the perspective and framing seem to want to lock out idealism from the conversation and encourage people to become ruthless, hard-nosed pragmatists in order to survive in this environment. Is that actually good, effective, or desirable? Again, lots of questions.