I keep seeing a lot of junk about economies and interdependence.
That would mean a lot more if this were a game.
It isn't.
As others have pointed out, this is development exercise disguised as a game, destined to be wiped sooner or later. More knowledgeable folks than me have explained why a wipe isn't Plan A, but it has nothing to do with whether or not people want to buy stuff from other people. Nor is it about preserving (or for that matter, destroying) the status quo for the benefit or convenience of us stress-testers. As far as I know, the "economy" isn't being stress tested. Don't bother arguing that crafting would be tested more thoroughly if there was more of a profit motive, that's magical thinking.
When the project becomes a game, intended to persist and please a community of players instead of testers, then we can get all hot and sweaty about interdependence, and the economy, and all those other meta-games.
In short, the problem isn't implementation, it's a problem of expectations.
