When I was in SE-Asia I saw that the poorest people had nothing else but each other...
People shared what they couldn't miss...
In the west we have succeeded in making poor people lonely and unhappy...
Mostly angry and intolerant...
Hatred and individualism vs Love and community...
Why is everyone so blind?
People who visit poor countries without living in them commonly hold this belief.
Poor people have different priorities.
As in, is there enough food and if not, how do you get it.
In this regard, while living in a poor country with my wife's family for almost two years, I found that the sharing of resources isn't as clear-cut as we want to believe. People go hungry even when some people right next to them have a full plate. Politics (as in some people in a village just piss everyone off or break rules of the community, something I was a victim of several times because I kept getting pissed off about family violence, typical men bashing women and women bashing kids... and I mean seriously bashing them. Social isolation during the process of eliminating that was one of the most difficult things I have had to endure in my life) plays a part. If a village dislikes a person, they are outcast.
On the flip side, they tend to be more forgiving as Westerners. (which was good for me)
Shelter is a perpetual struggle to maintain.
Men (typically) have no little means of income and that reduces their personal value (I cant provide for my family) so there is a high instance of heavy drinking (the logic of depression and low personal value ends up with men not having enough money for food but enough to spend on alcohol). Women tend to suffer the consequences of that situation.
Medication is a serious problem. Children tend to suffer the most with easy to fix things like diarrhea running rampant, infections from cuts (in a tropical climate) get much worse than they should, and illnesses are typically untreated.
It is an unpleasant life.
On the flip side, the sense of community is very high. Nobody has any secrets (try arguing with your wife when everyone can listen to it and discover that everyone talks to both of you about what you should do to fix the problem) but secrets are horrible anyway when the people around you want as many in the community to be content. Not happy.... content.
They do miss the stuff we have. They want a better house, a car, a TV, a regular power supply, all the things we take for granted, like running water, a shower that isn't communal, and much, much more.
Poor people are not some ideal of happiness because they lack consumerism as we are inflicted with it.
What I do agree with you about is how Western Society victim blames the poor, how they are almost, and ironically, more depressed, lonely, and isolated than those in a poverty situation. But for the most part, if I had a choice, I would still pick a Western form of poverty over true poverty every day of the week. Poverty is terrible, it is unpleasant, and Westerners need to stop looking at people living in poverty as some idealistic way of living because the poor people who meet Westerners always put on a smile, a brave face and try to make it look much better than it actually is.
And it is hardly surprising that very poor people tend to be highly religious. Which is a double edged sword because religion tends to get corrupted by those who hold high positions and those same people have nice houses, a car, TV and all the trappings of a consumist world. And I wont even get started on the things that are done by white people who are religious who fly in to do their good deeds and fly out leaving a bigger mess than they came to fix..... being poor sucks.
Also, living in a rich, consumer driven country also sucks.
What I believe is we need to be rid of consumerism, ensure people meet the basics of good, healthy living, and stop excess wealth.
And we need more community, a place to sit and talk to others about the meaning of life, to not stress the next meal, and deal with the local problems together.
So, please, stop thinking that poverty somehow means people are happier, it is a mask they put on for us.
