@muffy,
I spent a year in Afghanistan.
Some of those people, now they were dirt poor.
But, interestingly enough, despite being poor, they seemed a whole lot happier, better adjusted, sense of community then I would say the majority of Americans.
In ways, they remind me of the Amish.
They may not have a formal education, but they are far from stupid. Many speak two or more languages.
Life there could be short and brutal. Hence the sense of community, but in their case they were tribes.
Sure, we would see/hear about the occasional child bride to a 50something old man for a few goats, several bushels of wheat and a tin pot.
Some were more extreme in their religion but name me a religion where that does not exist.