I don't disagree with anything you say. I think it's worth mentioning that the cost of enforcement directly informs the cost of a lease/rental situation. The cheaper they can enforce the contract, the less they can theoretically charge. If they had to get a court order to lock your phone or repo your car, they'd make it more expensive or be much more selective about who they lease/rent to. This maybe enables more people to have phones or get cars?
I swear I'm not rooting for team "aggressive manipulative business behavior widens opportunities for the less well off". Gross. Kind of how I hear about globalization of manufacturing stuff - "they get paid pennies!" "yeah, but that's more than before the factory came? look what they can buy now" I know that's a overly broad generalization but you see those arguments.