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In my experience, rational humans consider the future welfare of humanity while thinking about and planning for our future in one way, but when the future becomes the present, they think in the moment and act in their own personal best interests. That is, by nature, humans are greedy. Example, most educated rational humans believe that global warming is real and that it will have devastating effects on the world in the not-too-distant future. We think we should take steps to prevent this from happening. But do we? No, in our everyday actions we continue to contribute to the problem, and we do not take steps to prevent it. We do this despite seeing it happening before our eyes.
What economists need to consider when creating an economic model for the future is how this human tendency affects the priorities we make for the future, versus those we end up with when that future arrives. That is, the priorities affecting human welfare, versus the priorities of individuals tend to change when the moment actually comes. Because of this, people will tend to find solutions that are good enough in the present, but not the best solutions for public welfare in the long run.
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