re: Call me Baltar :)
Like I said elsewhere, the "simple life" is only fun when you can stop doing it any time you want.
My grandparents, who were also farmers, had an outhouse, a well for water, a furnace that burned coal, and a simple life. They traded it in for indoor plumbing, a gas furnace, and the other "luxuries" as soon as they could.
A person can essentially pick the level at which they want to live. I would like to be able to make the choice, not have it made for me. That's all.
I'm not impressed by filmmakers who bitch about civilization while enjoying all its benefits. The real believers, the "Mother Earth News" types, are out there. I have known one or two. They tend to be very quiet, and they're not showing movies at expensive film festivals.