Is Civilization a Bad Idea?

I just read this article from NPR on our exact topic from class today. Here is what I mean:

"We became self-conscious, creating art, culture and tools of far greater complexity than anything that had come before. When the ice pulled back yet again, we eventually took a step of even greater consequence. We domesticated ourselves and put the Earth to the plow.

With agriculture came surplus and with surplus came new social arrangements. Eventually, we built cities and far-ranging empires to support them. Human beings began building civilization. In doing so we set ourselves and the entire planet onto a new trajectory.

But did anyone ever stop to ask if it was a good idea?"

This reminds quite a bit of Postman's argument and Bryan's comments in class. Here is the rest of the article, if you feel like reading the whole thing.