Grumpy, you've just concisely explained why this problem cannot and will not be solved by individual choices, unless governments intervene to change the incentives surrounding those choices to favor their taking a different direction. Choosing the greatest amount of personal comfort one can achieve is built into our nature. When an innate physical imperative confronts an intellectual imperative, the intellect is going to lose out more often than not. Statistically speaking, morality and altruism run a long distance behind selfishness in determining our actions.

But individuals are embedded in societies and we all must adapt to the rules of whatever society we live in or perish. Only government has the power to broadly and consciously restructure a society. Yes, as JimShaw would no doubt point out, when a government tinkers with something as large and complex as a modern economy, there will be mistakes and unintended consequences and these are easy to identify and disparage. But because of the truth of what GrumpyGord said, this is our only reasonable alternative to what is likely to be a massively chaotic mid-term and long-term future. And when things get bad enough, little luxuries like freedom of thought and action are quickly tossed aside in favor of despotism.

The USA was willing enough to submit to regimentation on a vast scale during WWII. Nowadays, getting anyone to submit to even minimal sacrifice for the public good sets off enough screams of pain to rival dental surgery without anesthetic. frown