Of the very very little that is somewhat widespread about human nature, one aspect of it is well known enough to have been given it's own name. It's usually taught in economic classes, but it's rather philosophical in subject.
The tragedy of the commons is a group behavior of humans where it spotlights the individual's powerlessness. How it is applied in the case of global warming, is that changes on the individual level demand sacrifice of lifestyle, say that you take the bus or ride a bike somewhere, or that one chooses to eat seasonally so that demand for produce grown in greenhouses because they are out of season decreases and so does the supply, saving kilowatt hours that would have been spent heating a greenhouse.
However, these sacrifices of one individual's lifestyle make virtually no difference to the magnitude of the problem that is global warming. Difference is made only if very large part of the group make these sacrifices in union. And where it relates to human nature is that we compare ourselves to others all the time subconsciously. Seeing that another man retains the luxury of driving his car to the supermarket to buy artichoke or raspberries whenever causes reevaluation of our own choices, and that reevaluation will cause relapse on the sacrifices being made.
There is something to be known about the tragedy of the commons, and that's that is effect is directly proportional to the size of a population. At billions of humans, it's effects are terrifying and so strong that essentially, change never happens on the individual level and must be enforced institutionally, that governments must impose levies, duties, encourage change with tax breaks, etc. Governments must do this, and humorously, governments are subject to the tragedy of the commons in their view of other governments.
It sort of means that thinking men are screwed by the ones who don't. Basically the weight of the simple minds, arrogant minds sink the ship at this point of population. Whether or not you believe in global warming, this aspect of human nature applies to anything that demands widespread changes for the greater good.
It helps in part to explain how we got here, in the modern world of consumerist insanity and runway hypergamy.
It's over
The tragedy of the commons is a group behavior of humans where it spotlights the individual's powerlessness. How it is applied in the case of global warming, is that changes on the individual level demand sacrifice of lifestyle, say that you take the bus or ride a bike somewhere, or that one chooses to eat seasonally so that demand for produce grown in greenhouses because they are out of season decreases and so does the supply, saving kilowatt hours that would have been spent heating a greenhouse.
However, these sacrifices of one individual's lifestyle make virtually no difference to the magnitude of the problem that is global warming. Difference is made only if very large part of the group make these sacrifices in union. And where it relates to human nature is that we compare ourselves to others all the time subconsciously. Seeing that another man retains the luxury of driving his car to the supermarket to buy artichoke or raspberries whenever causes reevaluation of our own choices, and that reevaluation will cause relapse on the sacrifices being made.
There is something to be known about the tragedy of the commons, and that's that is effect is directly proportional to the size of a population. At billions of humans, it's effects are terrifying and so strong that essentially, change never happens on the individual level and must be enforced institutionally, that governments must impose levies, duties, encourage change with tax breaks, etc. Governments must do this, and humorously, governments are subject to the tragedy of the commons in their view of other governments.
It sort of means that thinking men are screwed by the ones who don't. Basically the weight of the simple minds, arrogant minds sink the ship at this point of population. Whether or not you believe in global warming, this aspect of human nature applies to anything that demands widespread changes for the greater good.
It helps in part to explain how we got here, in the modern world of consumerist insanity and runway hypergamy.
It's over
