The altruism things is actually pretty easy to understand with one simple fact: it takes way less energy to destroy something than it does to create something.

The altruism things is actually pretty easy to understand with one simple fact: it takes way less energy to destroy something than it does to create something. So if you can have an arrangement where everybody agrees to just go about their business and create things, rather than constantly trying to destroy other people and their things, then it's hugely beneficial in sum. The caveat is that the viability of such an arrangement depends on an ecological niche not being at capacity; the game not being zero sum, in other words. If you're playing a zero sum game, then things become nasty and brutish pretty quickly.