> but it does demonstrate that a largely bifurcated consumption based economy can exist and can be mildly stable
This is not the case. These countries don’t operate/exist in isolation. They are part of global economy. But if this tech has a global scale effect, then the dots are not really connecting. You’re also forgetting the “revolt” factor.
The revolt factor is accounted for by ways of mass surveillance, and imprisonment for whatever gets labeled as domestic terrorism, like say, protesting data centers and "anti-tech sentiment" as a recent example.