The Power of the 'Common Good'?

At the start of the second wave of Covid-19 infections in the UK, there has been much talk about how 'freedom loving' people are now breaking the rules (whether they understand them is another issue) and making transmission of the virus worse. There is an interesting opinion piece by Nicky Hawkins (https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2020/sep/23/people-follow-covid-rules-fear-common-good-uk-restrictions) who cites a study from the London School of Economics on the first wave. The study found that there was extraordinary adhering of people to the lockdown rules. This was neither driven by knowledge nor fear. Social responsibility and the perception that most other people (with some notable exceptions) were also 'doing the right thing', were what caused people to stick to lockdown. Fear of fines were not strong factors then and probably won't be very effective in the second wave. Hawkins also points to a King's College London study that found that (surprisingly) 75% of respondants thought that other people were insufficiently worried about climate change (actually a more terminal problem for our species). The claim was that, as we constantly hear that few people are taking it seriously, individuals feel powerless and positive action becomes less likely. Hawkins' suggests that there should be less lecturing and lambasting on the topic and more positive actions displayed for people to follow (presumably so we can feel that we are 'all in it together' on this problem also). I would argue, however, that there are major differences between these two crises. The Covid-19 pandemic was something that was a danger to all and people could recognise that lockdown was likely to have only a short, finite duration. Climate change, on the other hand, results in short-term gains for some groups (e.g. oil companies and politicians) but problems for the 'powerless' masses. We are clearly not 'all in it together'. Climate change can only be 'cured' by almost permanent alterations to living conditions that go well into the future (or so they hope). One could argue that many older folk appear unwilling to give up pleasures (and pensions based on petrochemicals) that were regarded as standard until recently. It seems to be mainly sections of the young who campaign against global warming as they perceive that they will have to 'pay' for the consequences of what they regard as the antisocial behaviour of the earlier generation.