“The takeaway is that I do not expect the market to recover in real terms, when this is all over, for years, possibly decades. So this board is a natural. When every possible asset is overvalued, anticipated growth which might even be in excess of current valuation remains the only recourse.”
Then you should be in cash and gold.
It did not take decades to recover from the depression in the 1930s. It took a long time, but not decades. With more and more of the world joining the market economy, it is becoming harder for events in any one place to upset the apple cart.
IMO the valuations today are a direct result of low interest rates and the government printing a ton of money. The only alternative to the stock market is real estate, and I don’t know about where you live, but I live in the Seattle area and RE prices are going through the roof. And now the Chinese are entering the market. The value of my home is up 75% in 5 years.