I don’t believe a CEO or King is necessary for short sighted action. Humans are just very bad at sustainable long-term decisions.

I know a guy who owns a small forrest and when wood prices were skyrocketing due to supply chain disruption, he was tempted to sell more wood than planned. So he couldn’t sell as much in the following years. He has no boss, is not rich and makes his own decisions.

It’s a simple mechanism of supply and demand. I can’t see a reason why people wouldn’t cut down more trees that can grow back when demand is ultra high, other than force/legislation. And then people get angry because they won’t realize that they’d destroy their own business in the long run. A worldwide life-threatening situation won’t change that.