Did I said about perfect world? what you work for? being worse or being better? the goal you set is to make you surpass your current one or opposite? what's your or human's ultimate goal? why you need leader? the purpose?
If you don't need book, why you need characters and language? sorry, I can't understand, animal have similar life style you described, why human need evolve from animal?
The answer to the Purpose of life cannot be found in politics or democracy or even economics.
You are asking the right question in a wrong place.
Purpose of life is different for everybody. There is no common universal purpose that drives people.
"Survival" is not the purpose of life. Purpose comes after survival.
Personal Growth is not one dimensional to be viewed from the POV of economics. And it certainly cannot be viewed from the POV of governance and administration.
But one thing it definitely requires is freedom. A wide range of freedom, not only the freedom to do the right thing.
Animals desire survival (i think) , Humans desire growth and expansion. But the growth and expansion cannot be viewed from the prism of economics.