Why are people so afraid of taking accountability

Question

Why are people so afraid of taking accountability

Answer 1

In its simplest form - if you are responsible, then you can be blamed if it doesn;t go right.  People today do NOT want to accept responsibility and you can see that in just about every level of society ... from the person on the street who walks by the beggar saying "it's too bad that SOMEONE wouldn't look after those people" to the corporate executive who ensures that his/her signature is not on certain documents to the political leaders who engage in deniability strategies.  Pretty pathetic when you think about it.  Thanks for asking.

Answer 2

Because we are genetically pre-disposed not to.

Our survival instinct tells us we must do anything to survive, protect and advance ourselves. Therefore, we will use the mistakes of others to our advantage and visa versa. By trying to hide our mistakes when they occur, we are doing two things. One, we are protecting ourselves from being attacked by others, and two, we are trying to preserve our dignity so we can retain enough confidence to move forward. What makes us human is the ability to realize that even though our genetics incline us to behave a certain way, that behavior may not be the most beneficial to us in the long run. Thus the need for morals and ethics.

Intelligent societies understand that the benefits of honesty, teamwork and trust, outweigh the benefits of selfishness. Obviously, you cannot have honesty, trust and teamwork when too many people refuse to fess up and take responsibility for their mistakes.