What is the root of all the problems in the world?
Human desires. Without this there would be no problems only facts.
Religion, power, greed, and the compulsion to control others.
@ScienceBiker Agreed, to a point. I have no problem telling anyone trying to control me to fuck off. Probably ANOTHER reason why I'm single.That list just keeps getting longer. LOL
Seeing a starving child as a problem someone else will take care of.
Unfortunately, sound bites and feelings of guilt tend to simplify problems. Life is not simple but complicated. I have gotten into the issue of food aid many times and been vilified. Some, who desired a real discussion actually started to view the situation in another light. Serious critical thinking is absolutely necessary to understanding the true depth of some issues.
The root is human nature. Beyond that are things like greed, need for safety and simplicity. In addition, psychopaths contribute. Wikipedia says, "Psychopathy has a much higher prevalence in the convicted and incarcerated population, where it is thought that an estimated 15–25% of prisoners qualify for the diagnosis. A study on a sample of inmates in the UK found that 7.7% of the inmates interviewed met the PCL-R cut-off of 30 for a diagnosis of psychopathy. A study on a sample of inmates in Iran using the PCLV found a prevalence of 23% scoring 18 or more. A study by Nathan Brooks from Bond University found that around one in five corporate bosses display clinically significant psychopathic traits - a proportion similar to that among prisoners." .....Etc.
@SeaGreen I know that villages that rely on their neighbors to survive are not greed among the villagers. However, they tend to be fearful of outsiders and protect their self defined borders. Moreover, people tend to treat family members and close friends much better than others. If you know of a culture that does not have greedy who don't care about security, and who prefer complexity, please let us know. Which culture is it? I think the study done by Brooks is not dependent on culture.
The Rooth is humans starting cultivaring land instead of roaming Free. Read Yuval Hararis ”Sapiens”. Christian
Every comment so far, has humans in the center. I live on an island and there are no predators. Here the rabbit and deer populations have exploded. The deer often starve in the winter and the rabbits get to a certain size and then develop a disease which cuts down their numbers. This is a problem for those species but is not human caused. Our porblems are the same as the rabbits and deer - too many of us subsisting on limited natural resources. Nature keeps trying to establish a balance and we keep thwarting her.
Yes is our drive for survival and breeding but every form of life has that same drive. We think we are smart to beat Mother Nature but we aren't really that smart and this is one woman who will win in the end. One of the emphasises of this site was to promote overpopulation (along with the Humanist and Freedom From Religion Foundation).
I wonder if overpopulation per se is a real problem or inequality. I'm actually surprised that no one mentioned it yet. There's a few comments referring to human nature as the root of all evil. And I'm sure human nature inevitably produces inequality. But what can we as individuals and society do to minimize this?
@AdriaBack Overpopulation for all species is heavily controlled by nature. We are the only ones who think we can get around this, and so far have managed. But, in the end we will lose. We absolutely cannot continue using natural resources that are limited! Zero Population Growth was the first environmental group and was active for over 35 years until the pro-excessive immigration corporations got involved and paid ZPG and the Sierra Club to drop the immigration part of the equation. I was there and saw the change. The group is now known as Population Connection.
My question to those deniers is: at what level will our numbers be too many? Can the planet hold a trillion humans, or 100 billion or even 10 billion? There is an upper limit. Everything else like inequality are simply distractions.
@JackPedigo Education, a good standard of living and access to decent healthcare has been shown to limit population growth. I.e. educated couples are known to have <2 children, and this is what is predicted to happen - population growth leveling off - And with fairer world there is plenty for everyone.
unrealistic expectations,lack of compassion/apathy.
God and intolerence. The belief that I am right and every one else is wrong.
The human condition. Our thought processes are far less aware / conscious and far sloppier than most people realize, and our emotions rule us. Even the minority of folks who understand logic, logical fallacies, and critical thinking, under-utilize it (and no, I'm not satisfied with my utilization, either).
Whatever hope I have for humanity is based on the slowly (hopefully, not TOO slowly)-improving respect for rational thought and discourse and the erosion of negative systemic influences like religion.