Oh the irony of this site itself having a "we use cookies, got it?" banner while lamenting this exact perceived lack of choice. I always laugh a little when I see those anyway, knowing that my browser's settings and privacy extensions are blocking the cookies and tracking connections either way. Did we consider that if everyone is breaking the law, the law itself might need a rework?
I think GDPR assumed companies would like to do right by their visitors. I guess the only way to do that is to increase the severity of the consequences for violating user trust. GDPR itself offers a guideline that many seem to misunderstand... you don't need a popup for every kind of cookie.
I'm not against enforcing minimal tracking as default, and opting into cookies should be similar to going through a purchase flow... because it is one, just using "data" as a currency. So yes, convince me to click the "Buy cookies" button.