If a “Ben Shapiro destroys” video doesn’t break any rules, then what’s the issue with it being monetized?

The issue, my friend, is that such videos often do break the rules on hateful content and on misinformation (though those rules may have also been removed after 2020), but are still able to be monetized regardless.

What I’m doubting here is the claim that this kind of content is somehow disproportionately pushed to people who have no interest in it.

Straw man. You may have had that argument with someone else, but no one on this comment chain ever made that claim but you.