short-term gains were worth more than the long-term detriment
I'm boring and unimaginative so the only case I can think of where this would be true is suffering some long term injury to prevent death or the same or death happening to someone else, and even that would require some intense calculation.
I guess all we can do is keep pushing back and people while either realise it's stupid and also push back or everything will go to hell in a handbasket.
I reckon we are climbing into that basket.
At least though, there are some people starting to wake up to what has happened.