What things do you think cause the most problems in the world

[Secret Chief]

So many humans

Too many.

 

[MikeF]

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I am going to say the primary cause of the worlds problems is that we are forming societal group that exceed the capacity of our instinctual behaviors. If we limit social groups to small hunter/gatherer bands and prevent those bands from interacting, I think most of the big problems will be solved.

 

[nPeace]

Yep sadly we are our own worst enemy.

I disagree with @Evangelicalhumanist.
That, to me, is similar to saying, "Money is the root of all injurious things."
Money is not the problem, but rather, it's the love of money.

Hence the Bible correctly states...
"...those who are determined to be rich fall into temptation and a snare and many senseless and harmful desires that plunge men into destruction and ruin. For the love of money is a root of all sorts of injurious things, and by reaching out for this love some have been led astray from the faith and have stabbed themselves all over with many pains. (1 Timothy 6:9, 10)

Similarly, people are not the problem, but rather, the bad attitudes of people is the problem.
Change the attitude of people, and we will still have people... and no problems.

That's why there are millions of people who do not cause problems, but suffer from their effects, due to the wrong, or bad attitudes of other people.

 

[Mock Turtle]

Not something that one can easily prove, but I still suspect that religions have caused the most problems in the world, and still ranks as tops at the moment. Given the number of countries that seem to have issues related to religious beliefs, with the ongoing and seemingly unsolvable, problems existing between some countries or groups of countries. And even if religions are not directly involved, they often support one particular side or view so as to influence public beliefs and/or behaviour. Much like monarchies, where religions have often been used as supporting structures, so too they have been used to support some biased or bigoted beliefs - issues such as being opposed to LGBTQ+ rights being one example, apart from any male/female issues deriving from some particular religious doctrine.

 

[Twilight Hue]

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Yourself.

The very thing that causes the most problems.

 

[Evangelicalhumanist]

I disagree with @Evangelicalhumanist.
That, to me, is similar to saying, "Money is the root of all injurious things."
Money is not the problem, but rather, it's the love of money.

Hence the Bible correctly states...
"...those who are determined to be rich fall into temptation and a snare and many senseless and harmful desires that plunge men into destruction and ruin. For the love of money is a root of all sorts of injurious things, and by reaching out for this love some have been led astray from the faith and have stabbed themselves all over with many pains. (1 Timothy 6:9, 10)

Similarly, people are not the problem, but rather, the bad attitudes of people is the problem.
Change the attitude of people, and we will still have people... and no problems.

That's why there are millions of people who do not cause problems, but suffer from their effects, due to the wrong, or bad attitudes of other people.

And that is why I said that not only are people the problem -- they are the solution.

"Bad attitudes" is such a nebulous term, and short of saying, "get a better attitude," it doesn't allow for much in the way solutions.

However, poverty, ignorance, greed, racial hatreds, religious fundamentalism and intolerance, the desire for power over others -- these are all things that can be demonstrated, almost always lead to trouble, and all have at least the potential for amelioration.

Remember in Dickens's "A Christmas Carol" when the Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come shows Scrooge the two cringing children under his robes: "This boy is ignorance, this girl is want. Beware them both. But most of all, beware this boy."

We have the resources on this world to feed and educate the whole planet. But enough to feed and educate several small nations is tucked in away the bank accounts, multiple mansions and yachts of a tiny few ultra rich. And not only in the west. Russia has them (oligarchs), China has them (who'd a thunk?), India and Africa have them, the Saudis and Omanis have them.

Racial hatreds have been going on forever, and are still virulent in the US and other places -- yet there are places that can teach us how easily we can learn to live with and appreciate one another, just by learning a bit about each other and getting over our irrational fears.

And speaking of irrational, it should be obvious to anybody with an IQ larger than their neck size that religious fundamentalism and literalism is totally foolish, if only because at a literal level, all such religions make a mockery of themselves. How much better is the humanist way, of accepting the evidence before our eyes and reasoning it out carefully? Back to that education again. "Most of all, beware this boy."

Oh, yes, we could do a lot to better our world. Listen again to Carl Sagan.

 

[pearl]

I would add the desire for instant gratification, no matter what.

 

[Jedster]

@We Never Know

Perniciousness.

 

[nPeace]

And that is why I said that not only are people the problem -- they are the solution.

"Bad attitudes" is such a nebulous term, and short of saying, "get a better attitude," it doesn't allow for much in the way solutions.

However, poverty, ignorance, greed, racial hatreds, religious fundamentalism and intolerance, the desire for power over others -- these are all things that can be demonstrated, almost always lead to trouble, and all have at least the potential for amelioration.

Poverty is a problem... caused by greed.
So now you are saying poverty is a cause of problems?
Why, in that case, everything is the cause of problems... even giving us a computer and social media, to spread our ignorant beliefs. So yeah, computers are a problem.

...and ignorance is a problem, caused by a lack of wisdom... due to a lack of proper education.... and I am not referring to higher education, which only causes some people to look down their nose at others. That too, is a problem. It's called pride... another bad attitude.

Greed is an attitude, It's not a good one. I can't imagine anyone actually disagreeing... but hey.

Racial hatreds - treating people different because of their skin color, etc., is an attitude. A good one? No.
Skin color does not create problems.

Religious fundamentalism and intolerance...?
What in your mind is that?
Why, simply reading the Bible, is viewed - by some - as fundamentalism... and because one does not accept just about anything, is considered - by some - intolerance, so I have no idea what you mean by that, as it is rather vague.

The desire for power over others. Well, that kind of attitude speaks for itself.
I don't see any good in wanting to have power over anyone.
There is only one dominant power, and without it, the world would not exist, so in my book, that's good. It's needed for order, and continuity.

On the other hand, those who seek power over others, should consider the effects resulting from the chief individual who set that example.
He caused a whole heap of problems that had a serious domino effect - one problem after another.

Atheism is a problem. Why? Those who are its proponents have a dangerous message for everyone, and it just leads to more and more ignorance.
I'm not even sure they know how to measure IQ, since most of what they believe is imagined... even the belief that they have a good measure of that.

Remember in Dickens's "A Christmas Carol" when the Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come shows Scrooge the two cringing children under his robes: "This boy is ignorance, this girl is want. Beware them both. But most of all, beware this boy."

We have the resources on this world to feed and educate the whole planet. But enough to feed and educate several small nations is tucked in away the bank accounts, multiple mansions and yachts of a tiny few ultra rich. And not only in the west. Russia has them (oligarchs), China has them (who'd a thunk?), India and Africa have them, the Saudis and Omanis have them.

Racial hatreds have been going on forever, and are still virulent in the US and other places -- yet there are places that can teach us how easily we can learn to live with and appreciate one another, just by learning a bit about each other and getting over our irrational fears.

And speaking of irrational, it should be obvious to anybody with an IQ larger than their neck size that religious fundamentalism and literalism is totally foolish, if only because at a literal level, all such religions make a mockery of themselves. How much better is the humanist way, of accepting the evidence before our eyes and reasoning it out carefully? Back to that education again. "Most of all, beware this boy."

Oh, yes, we could do a lot to better our world. Listen again to Carl Sagan.

Yes. Greed, selfishness, etc. All attitudes we can do without... which would solve many many problems.
Getting to the heart of the matter - man's attitude... the bad one.
I needed to be specific, since if I just said attitudes, I am sure some would mot realize there are different kinds.