Murdock raised this issue in another thread, but I think it deserves its own thread and some careful consideration.

i agree we all need to be proactive...problem is like wearing a seat belt the majority of people would not wear a seat belt if there was not a big fine...yet everyday you drive on the roads you see people dont wear seat belt...they still take a chance...let the kid stand on the front seat etc..etc.
The question to me is, who takes responsibility?

There are two sides to this. Firstly, I believe that we each need to take responsibility for our actions, whether it be speeding, not wearing a seat belt, turning off your geyser or stealing. They are our actions, and each of them helps (or doesn't) create a better life for us all.

Now on the other side, the government creates laws for us to live within (remember, in a democracy we are indirectly the government). Assuming we can see the logic in those laws (e.g. speeding can result in an accident, not wearing your seat belt can result in more harm etc.) we would naturally want to follow those laws (because they make sense).

Essentially the government has to regulate those people who choose to act in a way which can harm other people, hence we have law enforcement and its agents.

So which creates greater compliance, more law enforcers, or more responsible people?

And now the difficult one - why do we have so many people in South Africa who act irresponsibly and endanger themselves and other people?