> And having lived in both wealthy communities and among poor communities in developing countries it amazing the general mood among the poor seems to ve much mo

> And having lived in both wealthy communities and among poor communities in developing countries it amazing the general mood among the poor seems to ve much more positive and less anxious and neurotic. I've noticed that too. Here are some of the potential reasons that come to my mind: 1. Their day to day lives are less complex. If they work in jobs, they usually perform a routine set of tasks that can be more or less done on mental autopilot. If they're self-employed (usually farmers), they have to plan and worry about the future, but at least they're not subject to a set of pointless, unknown and arbitrary rules like people in complex office jobs are. 2. Their jobs are (on average) more physical and involve more genuine contact with people. 3. They often stay around the place where they were born and when their entire family is. This gives them both rich social life, help with raising children, as well as a safety net. 4. They're not conditioned to strive to be excellent, an "industry leader" or a great artist etc. They're perfectly content with boring/low-status jobs as long as they pay for the important things in their lives, such as their family.