Instinctively we can only act out of self-interest, this is why we are sinking into crisis!
Question from the Internet:
“Have you seen examples of people acting only in their own self-interest since the pandemic started? What are the reasons we should be acting in our own self-interest? What do you think the limits should be?”
I would like to twist your question: have you seen any person, nation NOT acting in their self-interest since the pandemic started?!
Have you seen any cooperation, positive leadership, selfless act of protecting others, caring for others?! And please don’t mention the health professionals (I am one of them) who are trained and paid to look after, treat others!
We are where we are - in total, desperate helplessness, nobody having a clue how to handle the pandemic and the evolving socioeconomic crisis - because we are all acting solely based on self-interest.
Moreover the actual cause for the crisis is our original, instinctive self-interest, that we are completely incapable of making calculations for anything else but our own, totally egocentric benefit, success.
What the pandemic is showing us in a very sharp, undisputed manner is that in the globally integrated, interdependent world we evolved into, only unprecedented, mutually responsible and mutually complementing Human interconnections and cooperation can give us problem solving ability, and chance for survival.
This is something we will need to learn how to do above and against our inherently egocentric, subjective, self-serving nature that constantly pitches us against each other, and fuels distrust, attempts to succeed at each other’s expense.