Since mankind has dawned there have always been different cultures and civilizations... But in essence, it was always a leadership element that came to the fore within our species. There were and have always been tribal leaders or mass societal leaders. Many times leading humans is a karmically perilous thing. Because being a benevolent leader is quite a challenging task, especially when not educated on the ways that the universal spiritual flow happens. If you try to lead without understanding the flow of the universe, you will have no choice but to screw up. This is why things can get so out of hand in society.
Like the Tao Te Ching states, the highest aim of a leader is to feed and shelter people while keeping their minds unperturbed. Why would you want to keep peoples minds simple? Well the more you create a society based on delusions of grandeur, the more people will screw each other to get to the top of the hill. If everyone is happy with their lot, no matter how meagre, because society is fun to take part in; then I doubt you would have many of the problems we see today.
Why are tribal peoples living off the grid content? Because they understand the beauty of life comes from nature and the magic it presents. We are instead living in a society that leads you to believe that it takes certain prerequisites to be happy. Frankly, happiness couldn't be simpler, it's only a matter of working hard, using your heart and being what you want to be. This doesn't require a mansion nor a yacht, simply a mind that isn't preoccupied with a million things. But untangling a complex civilization so that it again makes sense to all people while not as difficult as one would think, is highly perilous it would seem.
Say you became president and then told people that money wasn't really the objective of life, I'm sure many people on wall street wouldn't be happy with such a statement lol. Even though it may actually benefit the economy to say such, doing such a thing would bring a great deal of controversy. So how does one find happiness in such a world? Well, it's about building your life in accordance with heavens will. Even in the depths of chaos, we can create harmony within our own personal lives, by living our truth and not succumbing to the chaos that's around us. Loving your life and loving the people around you is a good start, even if they are not the types of people you would choose to surround yourself with; be nice to them anyways...
Of course, you need boundaries and the like, but not to understand life, is to not understand that death is always in the offering as well. If we don't choose to live our lives by heavens will, then we are caught up in hells plan for us. There is not much middle ground to be found. You are either trying to be good or trying to be bad... To be in the middle is to leave yourself open to attack, mostly from within your own mind.