In case anyone was scrolling by and is interested the quote is a bit misleading out of context, Marx isn’t saying we should do this, he is more saying that capitalism requires “us” to do this, while telling us if we just stop eating avocado toast we too could become part of the billionaire class. While of course they themselves would never live without these supposed needless things.
I think "alienated" is a strong indicator of the negative perspective of the Author to the written text. I don't think people use "alienated" in a positive setting. So I don't think it is misleading at all, tbh
I sympathize, I recently ended nine months of job hunting. I found the internet a great source of free content to enjoy which much improved my penny pinching months. Libraries are also a wonderful asset to the budget conscious
Old time comic W. C. Fields was once asked how to become successful.
He said a man should castrate himself, burn out his taste buds, make himself as blind and deaf as possible, and then the only thing he could enjoy was money.
No this is a criticism of capitalism that says capitalism reduces you to a producer/consumer on the market and then forces you into poverty so that consumerist asceticism becomes your form of actualization.