Noble or savage? Hunter-gatherers

Q. Why does misery and inequality seem to coincide with technological progress?<p>A. Because the dead don't fill surveys.

The current Economist issue contains a letter on this story by Stephen Corry, Director, Survival International, London. From the letter:<p>"The Sentinelese are not the only tribe of hunter-gatherers who still resist contact with the outside world ("Noble or savage?", December 22nd). There are over 100 uncontacted tribes worldwide, many of them hunter-gatherers. Nor are the Sentinelese warlike. They defend their tiny island with good reason--intruders have shot and killed Sentinelese, and neighbouring tribes have been wiped out after contact with outsiders."<p><a href="http://www.economist.com/opinion/displaystory.cfm?story_id=10530066" rel="nofollow">http://www.economist.com/opinion/displaystory.cfm?story_id=1...</a>

Darwin was almost right. Technology enables the weak to survive just long enough to breed. How else would you explain cancer, obesity, and Britney Spears's child custody battle?