> the gigantic prices of real estate and rent, created by the monetary system being based on real estate instead of productivity

Rents are expensive because real estate is expensive. Real estate is a good store of value. The massive accumulation of surplus wealth among a small portion of society has led to an increased demand for stores of value. Someone looking for a house to live in competes not only with others who want to live in it, but above all with the super-rich who want the property as a store of value. That's why real estate is expensive.

> Wouldn't building a rocket to go to Mars for example be such an endeavour, which is bigger than chasing the imaginary dollar number?

That's conceivable. But I don't see the space science fiction of Le Guine or Asimov being realized in the activities of Musk and Bezos. To me, the whole thing seems more like an awkward dick measuring contest. The awkward situation with Shatner was a good example of how hollow and superficial this whole thing is. These people could go down in history as benefactors and heroes of humanity. But they don't have the guts for that. Either they launch rockets or go to the gym or sit with Joe Rogan or try to undermine democracy and replace it with a neo-feudalist hell.

Edit: I agree with you that we don't necessarily have to focus on the billionaires who are so prominent in the public eye. Below them, there is a larger class of super-rich people who have their fortunes managed for them, never lift a finger in their entire lives, and yet still attract an ever-increasing share of society's overall wealth.