Yeah, and there used to be "subsistence farming" and "living in the forest" and "making everything out of sticks and stones because we don't know any better".

Yeah, and there used to be "subsistence farming" and "living in the forest" and "making everything out of sticks and stones because we don't know any better". How far back do you want to go to find the optimal configuration of society? Or does it just coincidentally match the configuration that you personally grew up with?