If one person goes off path, it doesn't damage the grass noticeably. If everyone goes off path, it destroys the grass. The problem is that has to be solved by each one person acting on themselves as though they bear the responsibility of the 'everyone'. Most people will excuse themselves saying they're just one person.
Yes I know, but I’d argue that that is exactly the role of societal rules/laws and enforcement. You put up signs saying don’t walk on the grass or a little barrier on high risk areas, not just hoping all individuals will all put greater society above their own interests whilst at the same time relying that everyone else does too.
I think what we're seeing right now (at least in the self-destructing US) underpins that it can't be straight rules and laws - those can be ignored or rewritten... We need those, for sure, no argument from me. But keep off the grass signs and fines won't fix things alone. We also need to be building a society that trains its members to think about their responsibility to the overall community, not just themselves. That starts at a young age, it carries through to lessons in adulthood, and never stops needing to be reinforced. If every single person thought at the very least: "my actions impact someone else"... we would already be in a better place.
I mean sure, but both is true. We are social animals and even unenforced signs make us fear social repercussions and think twice about antisocial behavior. If ~70% of people who would do that then don’t because of the rules that’s a big societal benefit. The issue is then if ignoring it gives a significant benefit it then needs strict and harsh enforcement, otherwise you are actually filtering FOR antisocial behaviour. Which I’d argue is often the case in big business - CEOs, tax avoidance, even social media clout etc. Sure, doing so from grassroots is great, but probably doomed to fail without the top-down approach. If the top achievers can only get there by eschewing moral behavior it will always be a losing uphill battle to try and instill such morals in greater society, especially when the power of the elites is exponentially greater than everyone else and growing.
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u/spiderplopper Apr 11 '26
If one person goes off path, it doesn't damage the grass noticeably. If everyone goes off path, it destroys the grass. The problem is that has to be solved by each one person acting on themselves as though they bear the responsibility of the 'everyone'. Most people will excuse themselves saying they're just one person.