I meant it in a general sense, I think we'd be in a better place as a society if this model of work was easier to follow/more mainstream.
Is this is a general critique of capitalist exploitation of the "software" field? Like, as in software should be a utility like fresh water or electricity?
If not, and you are relatively literal in what you write, the following question seems unavoidable:
What about coaches for youth sports? What about beach cleanup? What about a thousand other worthwhile and societally useful activities that people volunteer to do, but for which there is no sustainable career path? What makes OSS contributing any different from them?
Why?