People who have no experience caring for the elderly have no empathy for the people caring for them when they become elderly.

The primary purpose of a government is to impose shared responsibility onto the public. Different forms of government delineate who gets to choose which responsibilities are to be imposed and by how much.

Government is necessary because the average person will go to great lengths to avoid any responsibility that does not serve their self-esteem or ego. The assumption that all responsibilities will be addressed as need arises has been clearly shown to be false. In a capitalist society, wealth only enables people to be more effective at shirking responsibility.

• Ants have an industrial structure, but do not have a social structure.
• Wolves have a social structure, but no industrial structure.
• Humans are the only species on Earth with both.

There are two vastly different forms of government. One serves our industrial nature, and one serves our social nature. Inherently, these two forms of government cannot function properly in the exact same way. They must find their own identity and effective structure.

A healthy sustainable society functions just like a traditional household. Organized religion plays the role of wife and mother, while the government plays the role of husband and father. The general public plays the role of the children. Organized religion works to keep the family healthy and together, and teaches the children to be compassionate and considerate. The government works to create a safe space and provide resources, and pressures the children to be focussed and productive. 

A long period of economic success has shifted this scenario. Instead of a traditional household raising children, our society has become conflicted siblings trying to care for elderly parents. The government avoids any and all responsibility for the health and wellbeing of the public (the parents) while, at the same time, undermines the efforts of organized religion. The job is too much for organized religion by itself and the government hides behind the rationalization that they could only help if things were done differently.

Unfortunately, I do not see any way to regain a sustainable structure without serious and expansive trauma. Serious enough to make people let go of what they believe they know, and simply experience themselves interacting in the world. When that happens, they will see the structure quickly reassert itself from ingrained cultural memory.