Some level of irrationality is what makes community work.
It’s a devoted version of long term thinking where you keep paying in, knowing that eventually it will come back. Most don’t have patience for it. Most would call it irrational because of the length of the time horizon.
In a world of instant payoffs, few are willing to play such a long game. But those who are get the value of compound interest. Exponential returns on their initial investments.
In the past, people did it for God. Millions, billions of people doing the right thing because God was watching. Many still do, but many have lost faith and now don’t know why they should participate in the long run. An atheistic culture, dominated by short term wins.
What’s an alternative incentive to believe in the long run? How do you begin to shift the culture?