Returning to the OP's question - are utility cyclists "holier than thou" (which is presumed to be wrong)? Well - how about actually holier? Everyone is challenged by birth to assess the soundness of the culture they were born into, and decide how to respond to it. SUVs and 4,000-square-foot houses really do r.a.p.e the planet - it's not just a pose or a question of style. The person who has repudiated the communal orgy has gone through a process of judging it.

As for bike moves, one salubrious effect is presumably causing people to see possessions as costly in themselves - to become aware of their existence and weight as negatives. Living lightly on the land grows out of becoming sensitive to and repelled by such costs. A path to a considered life, and a wisdom manifested as frugality.

The Kikuyu funeral used to involve leaving the body out for hyenas. I like that - a humble sense of one's place in the scheme of things.