You can oversimplify problems

Yes, you can oversimplify problems, and I’m fairly certain that a lot of people do, but I’m also certain they shouldn’t. The following examples are just the tip of the proverbial iceberg.

1. Victims are responsible for being victimized, ignoring the role of perpetrators and systemic factors that contribute to victimization.

2. Mental health issues such as stress and anxiety are resolved by thinking positively, neglecting the need for professional treatment, support, and understanding of mental health complexities.

3. Poverty exists because people are too lazy to look for work, disregarding systemic barriers, economic inequality, and structural factors that perpetuate poverty.

4. Climate change is a hoax created by Green Energy companies to sell technology they invented, dismissing overwhelming scientific consensus and evidence on climate change.

5. Adults blame their parents for their problems, oversimplifying the impact of upbringing and ignoring individual agency and external influences.

6. Drug addiction is a choice drug addicts make, disregarding complex factors such as genetic predisposition, mental health issues, and socioeconomic conditions that contribute to addiction.

7. Criminality is the career choice for some people, ignoring social and economic factors that drive criminal behaviour and the potential for rehabilitation.

8. Hunger exists because there’s not enough food grown to feed everyone, overlooking issues of food distribution, poverty, and political factors that contribute to food shortage.

9. Gender inequality can be resolved by giving women more positions of power, neglecting the need for systemic changes in societal attitudes, policies, and cultural norms.

10. Racism will cease to be a thing because there are laws against being racist, ignoring deep-seated prejudices, systemic racism, and the need for societal change.

11. Education is failing because teachers are not motivated to identify unique differences in students, neglecting systemic issues in education, including funding, curriculum, and support for teachers.

12. Homelessness is solely due to poor financial planning, disregarding factors such as lack of affordable housing, mental health issues, and economic instability.

13. Wars are started by weapons manufacturers to sell their products before they go out of date, simplifying the complex geopolitical and ideological reasons behind conflicts and wars.

14. Pharmaceutical companies have no desire to cure their patients, oversimplifying the complexities of individual patients and healthcare systems, research and development, and the ethical considerations within the pharmaceutical industry.

15. There are only two genders, disregarding the spectrum of identities and expressions that exist beyond binary definitions.

The reason behind people simplifying societies problems and their own falls into the Dunning-kruger effect. Their understanding of the cause behind problems is limited, so they can’t possibly understand the complexities in finding solutions for the problems, but they still want some kind of closure, so simplification is the chosen path to follow.