Thank you for this image: “like the ripening of a fruit”.
We certainly can hasten the ripening – by shining the light of awareness on the buds that are emerging.
Or as you also suggest – to bring the light of consciousness to those patterns of thought and belief that lie below the water line.
What’s deeper than the tip of the iceberg is called by Jung the “shadow” of which he says -

“The shadow is a moral problem that challenges the whole ego-personality, for no one can become conscious of the shadow without considerable moral effort. To become conscious of it involves recognizing the dark aspects of the personality as present and real.”

I believe that:

1.-Our individual (because all of us have one) is driven by:
a.-Our desire (I want to possess) limited by our accessible power (I can possess), and our fear of war (economical conflict of the dimension of possessing) if we do not respect our neighbor,
or by
b.-Our project (I want to do) limited by our accessible knowledge (I can do) and our fear of revolution (political conflict of the dimension of doing) if we do not coordinate with our neighbor.

2.-Our person (because all of us also have one) is driven by:
a.-Our yearning (I want to feell) limited by our accessible inspiration (I can feel), and our fear of chaos (social conflict of the dimension of feeling) if we do not surrender to our neighbor,
or by
b.-Our vocation (I want to be) limited by our accessible wisdom (I can be) and our fear of crisis (cultural conflict of the dimesion of being) if we do not welcome our neighbor.

I also believe that this basic shift from being a selfish individual to becoming an altruistic person is gradual, like the rippening of a fruit, and involves “progressing” from our physical desires and objectives, to our intellectual projects and plans, to our emotional yearnings and dreams, to our spiritual vocations and ideas.

As you very well said, the real fight is within and has to do with our person relentelessly trying, “and without firing a bullet”, to drive, convert and subordinate our individual.

I finally believe that the current collapse of the world’s monetary and finantial global system, that has the real economy in real danger, is just a manifestation (the tip of the iceberg) of a deep and global cultural crisis that speaks about the wrong way of being humans beings that we have chosen. Instead of becoming a people of altruistic persons we have chosen to decay to a mass of selfish individuals….

However, we always have the hope of conversion, because as you well said, is all about individual or personal choices…..

Since my previous comment is still awaiting for moderation, I had time to improve it a little bit, so now you have the choice….

I alredy chose not be an individual driven by desire (I want to posses) and stopped by fear (my neighbor (prójimo) can fight back and defeat me if I go too far) and instead I am a person driven by vocation (I want to be) and stopped only by my ethical conscience (Judging on my neighbor’s reaction to my acts, Am I really becoming a better person?)