>> It is as though Latin American countries had the wrong kind of happiness before 2020, says Mr Helliwell—a happiness sustained by people’s close social connec

>> It is as though Latin American countries had the wrong kind of happiness before 2020, says Mr Helliwell—a happiness sustained by people’s close social connections, not by high levels of social trust. > Why is high social trust the 'correct' kind of happiness? The very next sentence in TFA grabbed my attention before seeing this question: > A global poll in 2019 found that only 52% of people in Latin America and the Caribbean thought a neighbour would return a wallet; just 41% thought a cop would. That is the lowest share of any region. If social trust is a major component to your happiness and you distrust ~50% of the community and have even less trust for the institutions said to protect society, that might be the “wrong” type / source of happiness for your given environment.