I will never be convinced that people are inherently bad. Even in the case of wars and other large scale atrocities, its the decision of a few who are in charge of bringing it about through every manipulation they can think of, with everyone under them forced to comply. It is not the population as a whole.
I do think that people mistakenly believe society/parents are responsible for the shallow, self-centered attitudes, but I also know for a fact that most people have never been introduced to the proper life management skills one needs in order to lead healthier lives. 95% of us were never even introduced to the idea that there is any other way to live besides the way we live now.
What we’ve seen modeled by everyone from very early ages are various stages of (blanket term alert) dysfunction. I’ve noticed that people are like water, and tend to take the path of least resistance. That’s a shame, because your quality of life doesn’t get any better unless you take actual steps to change it. How can you change something when you don’t even know you can?
Plus, we’re saddled with negative self-images and so much pain that we choose to escape through materialism and ego instead. We do all kinds of things to avoid our pain instead of identifying it. That leads us into never-ending cycles of failed efforts. We try and try, but never see the fruits of out efforts. I happen to think that is the greatest tragedy of our time.