Fear of the unknown
In our beginnings, for example lightning, earthquakes, volcanic activity, something which wants to eat you etc.
Power
The smarter realised by experiment and experience the examples in the previous point could be explained.
Instead of letting others know they kept it to themselves and formed a “higher” priestly cast (lets face it we all want better lives).
Claims were then established that they knew the mind of the gods (later, probably be evolution of beliefs - god, – name depending on where in the world you came from).
A large amount of fictitious literature, doctrine etc produced to establish this.
This cast now have an easy, comfortable existence at the expense of the many trusting, gullible and expendable ever since.
Greed
All I can say here is that it has now become a malignant cancer consisting of the greedy with no known way for surgical removal of that cast previously mentioned.
It seems that if humankind doesn’t remove this extremely complicated malignancy which is mutating to other forms of control our eventual destruction is highly likely due to the power struggles between different clans lead by this cast, after all they all possess weapons of mass extinction.
Maybe that is what happens.
The universe doesn’t care one way or the other.
Lets get to Mars as soon as possible then we will have two chances of getting things right.