Conservatism or libertarianism place the burden of the public good on individuals. Liberalism or socialism place that burden on the system. The reason that developed countries with socialist tendencies (Norway, Denmark, Germany) are thriving is because for a modern society to succeed, we need a system to help the public.

In Sapiens (loc 1619), it’s discussed how humans evolved for millions of years in small bands, but the ag revolution quickly propelled us into large societies before we could develop an instinct for mass cooperation. This is why we need to use higher thinking and intellectualism to solve big collective problems. We must protect ourselves from our own instinctual deficiencies by designing our systems to nurture and care for us. Rather than just adopting the view that individuals “should just do this” or that. That doesn’t work, people aren’t just going to change their nature. We simply can’t. We can, however, change our systems and environments, knowing what we need as a society to thrive.