Your Sledgehammer posted:

A thousand times this. There's an assumption in the OP that bears examination, and it's the assumption that civilized life is objectively better than indigenous/noncivilized life. Not only is that not necessarily the case, but I can actually think of two instances where civilization is the clear loser when measured up against noncivilized lifestyles (which I'd define as any lifestyle that includes hunting/gathering as the primary mode of subsistence):

1. Sustainability. In a little over a century, industrialized society has radically altered Earth's climate, acidified the oceans, left us with only 60 years of viable topsoil remaining, and caused an extinction event on the order of magnitude of asteroid collision. Indigenous lifestyles, on the other hand, have been ecologically stable for hundreds of thousands of years.

2. Mental Health. I know this one sounds ridiculous, but humor me. Anthropologists have shown time and again that mental illness is nearly unheard of in uncivilized peoples. I don't think it is too much of a stretch to say that their lifestyle results in more contentedness, life satisfaction, and just a better perspective on life in general. If you don't believe me that mental illness is incredibly rare among the noncivilized, I'll gladly provide citations. Contrast that with roughly 1 in 5 Americans suffering from some form of mental illness every year.