This only works if humans were not inherently greedy. With a few exceptions of altruistic individuals, often in other species (most of which die as a result of their altruism before they get the chance to reproduce), the majority of organisms are greedy in order to survive.
Altruism is actually a basic instinct in humans and many other animals. (This has been the subject of countless studies) While we are blessed with/are capable of free will, our culture does heavily influence out decision making and currently our culture has swung toward cynicism. You would be surprised how easy it is to make room at the table for one more, and how much richer your life is for it.
If any study claims widespread human altruism, they have an incomplete definition of altruism or are heavily biased. Case in point: every single day of your life people try to take from you and nearly every single person around you is concerned with their own well-being. Many of them are disinterested in the well-being of others (unless family or friends), making it the complete opposite of altruism. Their concern for family and friends is also borne of a selfish nature to not feel emotional pain because of their death. Concern for children is also inherently selfish, as the passage of one's genetic material is the only grasp at immortality most of us organisms currently have.
Except that altruism is a a part of human nature, and one needed to survive. There's an idea called reciprocal altruism, which is basically boiled down to "tit for tat." You make yourself temporarily weaker for the sake of the long term goals of your group. I fully don't believe that their is any such thing as a truly selfless act (because people get some reward for being altruistic), but the idea of altruism as been around for a very long time.
Reciprocal altruism is somewhat of an oxymoron. "I fully don't believe *there is any such thing as a truly selfless act" ... that is effectively admitting there is no such thing as actual altruism.
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