Somebody Else's Problem

Has anyone read Douglas Adam's Hitch Hiker's guide to the galaxy. If you have you may be familiar with the theory of somebody else's problem. Someone else's problem is when a group problem becomes invisible because it is generally important to a group but may not seem specifically important to the individual.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Somebody_Else's_Problem_field#Somebody
_Else.27s_Problem_field

This really in essence is the problem about humanity. By not viewing the group's problem and only caring about your own problems, problems don't get attended too properly?

Or

Is it that people don't pay enough attention to their problems and if people paid attention to their own problems their wouldn't be any problems to begin with?

I think this concept was also covered in, 'A Beautiful Mind.'

That's why, from my understanding, we form governments. So we can govern and take care of issues and problems not normally handled by a group of individualists.