> Having seen both, a ghetto in a U.S. inner city is objectively much more materially prosperous, partly thanks to government support, than a village in Banglad

> Having seen both, a ghetto in a U.S. inner city is objectively much more materially prosperous, partly thanks to government support, than a village in Bangladesh, yet if you look at crime, social cohesion, family cohesion, etc, the latter is more socially prosperous. There is social and family cohesion in the inner city, but it doesn't look like middle class cohesion. Keep in mind that racial and class de-facto segregation is really high in the inner city, police more heavily target your community and are more likely to arrest you, and economic opportunities are limited in a variety of fashions (esp. property and business ownership). Things like gangs and grey market economies are a result of those conditions and they do provide real value for people even if it is associated with cycles of violence and things that are generally bad. > Work creates roles for people, it creates hierarchies of authority, and it binds families and the community together into a common purpose. Work does not inherently create hierarchies of authority, there are many models of work and social structure that have different results when it comes to hierarchy. Work also doesn't necessarily create or enhance communities and can sometimes even be deleterious to them.