These people you refer to still had ethics and morals. So they are a moot point - what you are talking about is society.
With regards to the ape comment, when was the last time you saw an ape in jail? Infact, (No I'm no expert on apes... except maybe ox... he's an ape
) I dare say that the only "murder" is when dominant males clash/territorial things. Which in their case, is an instinct. With us, it's because we have E&M
I too enjoy my own existence. It's nice to be alive. But we won't be if we (as a race) keep on fucking shit up. Sure, Mars etc etc are all storms and waste etc, but they don't support life (that we know) all the 'adverse' affects are just what the planet naturally does.
This planet naturally supports life. It allows trees to grow and species to exist. Only 1 specie on the planet takes more than it gives, and that's us. (I should start a cult or something... )
Ara - at what point did I say we are better off? Forgive me if it came over the wrong way, what I meant was that there would be no problems if all we depended upon was our instincts, as aposed to what we "want" or any other of the completely pointless things we indulge in.
Sounds odd, but to care, it'd be easier not to care. Just to rely upon yourself/pack/groups/whatevers to survive. We don't need television. We don't need phones. We don't need trade.
This way, the harsh and cold truth is that the uninhabitle parts of the world become uninhabbited, the weakest would fall and the strongest would live. There would be no jail, no law, no governing bodies. But it's all just idealism, which is never going to happen, so I no longer see the point in discussing it.