can we truly go 'into the wild' and not just thrive but survive?

It is possible. Many people have done this but Chris did not have the personality or knowledge for such a venture. Despite his romantic ideals about living alone in the woods, Chris was a social person. I think he realized this in his last days starving by his old bus. He also went into the woods grossly unprepared and unaware of what he was getting himself into. There are people like Dick Proenneke who lived alone in the Twin Lakes Alaska for extended periods: Chris certainly was not like that.