I’m not sure I get your meaning. You didn’t focus on actual examples… because you don’t want to find out if the phenomenon you’re describing is actually real or not? (But you obviously should want to find this out—that is what we’re doing here, right?)
I mean, if what you’re describing isn’t a real thing, then this whole conversation is moot, isn’t it?
I’m saying it’s out of scope, meaning it’s not what this post is about.
It’s about a phenomenon that happens in lots of different situations and topics. I’m trying to generalize it, abstract it, and understand it.
A simple example:
Family meeting. Mother says: “The electric bill is getting expensive. Please mind your use of energy. Don’t leave lights on when unnecessary. Use the Air Conditioner at reasonable temperatures. Etc.”
Then one of the sons thinks: “Why should I make any personal changes or sacrifices? I barely use electricity, the ones wasting it are the others. The expensive bill is their fault. So unless they make a change, my sacrifice won’t even make a dent. No point in doing it.”
That’s the phenomenon I’m talking about. Aside from specific instances.
That’s why I didn’t focus on actual examples, and only briefly mentioned a couple in the begginning. :P
I’m more interested in the psychological phenomenon, rather than specific instances in real life, or wether its occurrence is a good or a bad thing.
e.g. Maybe it makes sense to not cooperate. I don’t know. That’s out of scope here.
I’m not sure I get your meaning. You didn’t focus on actual examples… because you don’t want to find out if the phenomenon you’re describing is actually real or not? (But you obviously should want to find this out—that is what we’re doing here, right?)
I mean, if what you’re describing isn’t a real thing, then this whole conversation is moot, isn’t it?
I’m saying it’s out of scope, meaning it’s not what this post is about.
It’s about a phenomenon that happens in lots of different situations and topics. I’m trying to generalize it, abstract it, and understand it.
A simple example:
Family meeting. Mother says: “The electric bill is getting expensive. Please mind your use of energy. Don’t leave lights on when unnecessary. Use the Air Conditioner at reasonable temperatures. Etc.”
Then one of the sons thinks: “Why should I make any personal changes or sacrifices? I barely use electricity, the ones wasting it are the others. The expensive bill is their fault. So unless they make a change, my sacrifice won’t even make a dent. No point in doing it.”
That’s the phenomenon I’m talking about. Aside from specific instances.