Can we scale up by scaling down?

I wanted to write something about how it seems we ruin everything we try to scale up. I deleted it a couple of times, but the main idea is the following:

We invented agriculture, but then we deplete resources needed to feed cities with million inhabitants. We invented democracy so we can be represented, but when we scale it up to the masses, it turns into marketing or popularity contests. We invented amazing forms of communication, but when millions argue, things become ugly really quick.

A humble but probably wrong “solution” is to return to the basics, renounce modern society, and go back to small villages, but that doesn’t really solve anything.

There must be a way to make things like small communities while keeping the benefits of modern civilization. A way to grow our food without depleting resources. A way to communicate without spreading anger and despair or talking in echo chambers. Probably we won’t find it right away, but if there’s something we have done as humanity through the beginning of history, it is to find new ways and keep trying.