There is a version of this essay that ends with a policy prescription. This is not that version; the mechanism is interesting enough on its own. The evidence here is thinner than the confident commentary suggests, and the honest position is a shrug with a direction of travel. The remedy is rarely exhortation. It is a change to the situation so that the easier choice is also the better one. Ask most people why they did what they did and they will give you a reason; ask them again a week later and the reason will have quietly changed.
What follows
The mind that evolved for small groups and immediate dangers is now asked to manage a pension. It does its best. The measure that matters is not what people say about restraint but what they do when nobody is scoring. Notice how rarely anyone is argued out of the empty diary, and how often they are simply moved past it by a change in circumstance. Ask most people why they did what they did and they will give you a reason; ask them again a week later and the reason will have quietly changed.
