Ask someone who has assets of $3 million what amount of money is required to feel secure in life and the answer would be about $30 million. Ask one who has $1 billion in assets the same question and you are likely to get a $3 billion answer.
The Pursuit of Our Own Unrelenting Needs
Evolution does not produce creatures that will survive; it produces creatures that want to survive. But you cannot know until you have died whether your efforts in life were meaningful and of value because the context of your prior acts is not fixed until the unpredictable moment of your death.
Yet, our greatest emotional fear is the fear of death. Our emotional decisions govern why we vote for the politician who promises to protect us from the fear of terrorism...or...join the religion that promises us life after death...or...buy the big SUV with the front and side airbags that promises to save us from death in a crash.
If you cannot predict the future, it is sensible to continue adding to your surplus of offspring, wealth, and material goods even far beyond your needs, as an insurance policy against unexpected catastrophes such as severe droughts or floods, which will eliminate anyone without a surplus large enough to last until they end.
Even nonmaterial surpluses of kindness and good deeds can be drawn upon when one later needs help. If the unthinkable never happens, your efforts will not have been in vain because they always add to your chances of survival and reproductive success in the near future or generations from now. And as long as you maximized your potential, it really doesn't matter if you enjoyed the process. Like Noah, who sacrificed and toiled to build and stock his ark, one prepares for the possible flood in order to survive it.
And yet with individual efforts to survive continuously undermining the common good, then what hope is there for peace? Our behavior fluctuates between sensible and difficult to control, casting doubt on the possibility for peace. At the same time, research using behavioral testing, psychophysiology, and even brain imaging shows that empathy and the impetus to help are greatly increased when one feels similar or familiar to another.
Source: Averting the Tragedy of the Commons by Stephanie D. Preston, University of Michigan assistant professor of psychology, in SHIFT, December 2006