Liberty, selfishness, and "correctives"

In a letter from 1814, Jefferson wrote that our tendencies toward selfishness where liberty and our pursuit of happiness lead us require “correctives which are supplied by education” and by “the moralist, the preacher, and legislator.” 

Thanks Kurt Anderson (at the New York Times) for this great op-ed.  This follows a lot of what I have been saying about motivated reasoning.   It would be really nice if we have the self-awareness to know how our own brains are making decisions, the insight to know what would be best in the long term for ourselves and our communities, and the fortitude to pursue the long term. 

Unfortunately, I don't see any of these happening any time soon, let alone all of them.