Exactly, and to me that leads to the question of whether or not selfishness is required for a civilization/society to advance.

not much of advance if shortly after we all drown trying to come up with costing models for lifeboat usage

This is veering off topic but your example is one of the reasons capitalism strikes me as a transitional system. It only makes sense to weigh the cost of something like a lifeboat or healthcare when the inputs are scarce. When the inputs become plentiful there's much less of a reason to be so miserly.