Because with time, this light is also putting an end to not just itself but every other form of life around it.

Whether the positives outweigh the negatives doesn’t really matter when there’s nobody left around. Once we get to the point where the climate disaster is bad enough and irreversible (it might have happened already), it doesn’t even matter if humanity suddenly falls back into the middle ages and gets primitive enough to not do any harm anymore: certain processes won’t just suddenly stop.

But if everyone is looking out for everyone else

I agree with you, but this takes us back to square 1 : ).

I’ve been in school long enough to tell you that knowing people might not prevent some from being awful.

I wish it was that simple! Turning on/off some sequences (it might not be the correct term) might actually affect other things, as well.

Humanity can’t be fixed, will always be selfish, greedy, discriminating against other people who differ enough, since a bunch of these things are pretty much hard coded. You might not be, some people you know might not be - but statistically, the majority of humanity will happily watch others get oppressed (or worse) for various reasons. There will always be people who manipulate others for power/wealth, disregarding law, morals or the environment, and there will always be a fuckton of gullible/dumb/mean people who happily buy the propaganda for reasons above.

Therefore, no matter what kind of society you try to form, with enough time we will get back to where we are now, and humanity will never be able to break out of this downward spiral, due to its inherent fault.

…which leads to my main controversial opinion, based on the above: the only cure to the mass extinction and the worsening climate happening today is the eradication of the human species. Yes, it would be such a shame saying goodbye to all the great things we have achieved, dad jokes, poetry, the Backstreet Boys; all this means nothing if everything dies on a scorching/freezing planet. At least if we take out humanity, other forms of life could survive, and life as we know it isn’t really found on every other planet.

Obviously there will be nothing wiping the human race off of the face of the Earth, and if it somehow ever disappears, it will be by its own doing - but chances are that will also take all other forms of life with it.

Looking at all the awful things humans have been doing to each other, all the pollution, all the ignorance, all the destruction, I wouldn’t hesitate a bit if there was a red button in front of me that could magically make them disappear (including me, of course). In the blink of an eye. I would slam down on it as fast as I can.

A bit unrelated, but what were the founding fathers high on when they named their new settlement TRAIN? : )