In short, you have to be trustworthy. If everybody's just in it for personal fame or fortune, I guarantee you that the organization will be a loser. Over the course of history, mercenaries have never won a war. You've got to believe . And what is true of organizational behavior and success is equally true of societies as a whole.
Moral decline precedes economic and social decline.
A society of snakes can't function over the long haul, because people are not meant to be selfish, solitary units. Snakes can't do that. And we know that a society of snakes certainly is no fun. Now, what I'm telling you, most of you know already. In fact, the human race has known these truths for a very long time.