Will our genetic makeup lead to the demise of humanity?
I propose to consider three tendencies that seem to be inborn and endanger our survival: greed in all members of the group, male inter-group strife for territory, and male power struggles within the group accepted by females.
Of course, genes that counter-balance fatal inclinations are to explored also.
Probably, greed has been in us already before we took to farming. We can see this greed in chimpanzee behaviors already. But for chimps and early humans there are hardly opportunities to store what is gathered beyond what can be consumed immediately.
With the rise farming, though, humans developed the technical and social means to store surplus food and in due course the products of crafts and arts as well. This inclination has derailed into an ongoing drive for more consumption although it leads to over-exploitation on of the planet.
The male inclination to fight neighbors for territory, to the intended benefit of all within the group, is perhaps too strong in humans to arrive at reasonable agreements between countries and companies in order to save the planet. Have you seen this video with an inter-group chimp fight about territory? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a7XuXi3mqYM
As Nicole Bea Pastoukoff wrote me on Facebook, human males have an inborn tendency to fight one another as rivals in getting access to women. This gives women the strongest offspring possible within the group and contributes to the survival of the group.
But the males may get obsessed with gaining ever more power. These power struggles may make them ignore sometimes necessary adaptations to available resources, let alone consider future needs.