I'd like to think we aren't unruly animals (actually, I see my dog act more compassionately and lovingly on instinct than, sadly, some humans I've known), but there is an element of Darwinism at work here, I'm sure. Survival of the fittest. The easy way out is to not see the long-term merit of making a choice that does not put one's own immediate gratification ahead of all other options.

It's like bad economics: increased spending may keep the GNP afloat for a while, but sooner or later, someone has to pay the bills.

Some people have hair-trigger ids, others have more well-developed super egos. The only way to control the id, unfortunately, is to present it with consequences. That's why you have the state muddying its hands in the business of legislating morality in the first place.