&gt; Time and again I&#x27;m reminded that most people are really only &quot;good&quot; because it benefits them personally in some way.<p>I don&#x27;t know if that&#x27;s the general nature of people though - I think when people have enough, but not too much, they&#x27;re generally good. But if you&#x27;re below or above that middle bound, things start to go bad.  If you&#x27;re below, natural hunger and base instincts for survival drive your behavior.  But if you&#x27;re above that &quot;safe&quot; level, it seems like a lot of people go a little wonky - lots of people who get to a significantly higher level, it&#x27;s almost like it sets off a switch in their brain and it turns into a game, where they can&#x27;t resist seeing <i>how much</i> they can get, damn the consequences.