I understand where you're coming from, but not everyone has the same ethical sense that you do. I think you would be hard pressed to say that people without those things (art, science, productive work, honesty, etc.) are not surviving. Maybe they aren't thriving... but that's different.

I think Maslow's heirarchy of needs is pretty relevant here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maslows_hierarchy_of_needs