[lo_zamoyski]

> Sometimes I feel people lose sight of this original intention, be it unintentional or otherwise.

It's more than a matter of losing sight. This is endemic to liberal hyperindividualism which places the individual and "consumer utility" at the center of economic activity. This ideological presupposition actively works against human flourishing - and even the viability of an economy at all - as a precondition for successful economies is so-called "normal social reproduction". Our consumerist economic order is actively hostile to stable family formation and fecundity (as evidenced by precipitous demographic decline) and thus to the health of society in general.

The economy is indeed supposed to be in the service of human flourishing. Modern economics instead optimizes for "utility maximization".