> (b) most people could simply opt out, own nothing, and go live in the woods if they wanted to, but would strongly prefer not to.
Almost every single person I know would rather do this, including myself, and can't. The woods are all private property, and unless we managed to hide somewhere, we would be removed by force.
Historically, (at least in my country, Scotland), people have been forced via economic and military coercion to migrate to the cities and adopt a lifestyle of employment and consumption, there's very little free choice going on.
Can you not join an intentional woodland community? What about moving to another country and living in the woods? If almost everybody you know would rather do this, it sounds like you've got quite the group. Why not pull together and make it happen?
I would be interested to hear of any in my nation that would have me, seems like quite an ask to allow a stranger to join your community when they bring little of value. That's not to mention whether it's legal or not, which I suspect it is not, planning laws are rather strict.
I do not believe I could move to another nation without employment or family relations legally.
We cannot pull together because even pooling all our resources, we could not afford to purchase the land nor the means of survival for ourselves and our families.