The biggest challenge in life is getting along with other people. When times are tough, the challenge increases, and you find out just how bad we all are at it. We’d rather fight and kill–and maybe get killed—than find compromises.

Not everyone is quick to violence. Like most human qualities, we have different tolerances. Most people are somewhat tolerant. A few are very tolerant or intolerant. But it’s the intolerant people who mostly set the agenda. Unless the moderates are willing to keep them in check, using physical force, if not outright violence.

Until we feel threatened. Optimists love to point out that an actual crisis often inspires us to help one another in our common cause. (They tend to forget about the looters.) And yet, the threat of a crisis brings out a different attitude. If we believe we can throw someone else under the bus, and avoid getting hit ourselves, many will be tempted. Especially when given a good rationalization. It is easy to believe that someone else is a villain, and deserves to be sacrificed, if it lets us off the hook. Scapegoats are convenient.

Maybe when the climate disasters and energy crises, and the subsequent food and energy and housing crises—really come home, we’ll realize that we have to work together. Although by then, we will probably be at full-scale war, anyway. Until then, we’ll be fighting to see who gets to keep their nice standard of living, and who gets thrown in the volcano. Or who gets left to be washed away in the flood, as the case may be.

Once we’ve worked it out of our system, and killed a few tens of millions, and gotten sick and tired of the bloodshed, maybe we’ll finally be ready to put our differences aside. If we haven’t nuked ourselves into oblivion.