Psychologists confirm that whether affluent or not, citizens are happier and psychologically healthier when socially cohesive.
The 2020 United Nations World Happiness Report, in its article, “History & the Hunt for the Root Cause,” hypothesized that past choices play a part in the psychological functioning of whole countries. The authors point to a historical pattern of virtue in the countries with the happiest people. See more at my “Where Women Govern” Psychology Today blog. The 4 Virtues of World Happiness | Psychology Today