The signifigance of the question “what is the most fundamental human characteristic: fear or laziness?” is that those two attributes and not any others are the most likely correct answers. Neither fear nor laziness will bring a person to their potential, but when you look at people and how they behave it’s clear that they avoid doing things when possible (laziness), and hide from opportunities to make their lives meaningful when those opportunities arrive (fear).
So human inclination towards fear and laziness is why human evolution seems to be an “endless and futile addition of zeroes.” Until some stimulus to further evolution (total sociological and economic collapse) presents itself. Prepare yourselves…