[bavell]

IMO this has nothing at all to do with "distorted ideas of productivity and success" and everything to do with the rural vs urban lifestyle. There are plenty of similar examples like the one you gave that happen everyday here in the U.S. As a general human rule, smaller communities are more tightly knit and care more for each other.

[mannykoum]

That is definitely a factor. More complex social systems provide a degree of distance between you and the rest of the community (how can anyone keep up with having a sort of relationship with a few million others).

What is present in rural areas is a sort of respect and fear of exclusion (I think these two are reciprocal). But it is not impossible to have that on a local level in a large city. Having lived in both London and New York (similar population size, vastly different population density) I've seen this happen. In Manhattan specifically there is little respect for neighborhoods—comparatively—while in London residents care for their boroughs. Some direct actions that might have fostered that are simple things like community gardens/allotments which are very common in the UK.

that's my humble opinion, I'm not an expert in human social behavior.