Once upon a time, folks had to work pretty hard just to keep up, much less get ahead. They didn’t have time for damnfoolery.
Despite that, folks still got into trouble sometimes.
Nowadays, we are insulated consequences of our actions. It is really hard to starve no matter how you behave.
So things have gotten worse. People can believe all sorts absurd things and it doesn’t impact their ability to survive.
That is what we seeing here.
Excellent point.