The problem is not about understanding the concept such as "...we must all cooperate and see to it that everyone does his fair share..." because it is not a complicated one itself. The same concept has been reflected in some Hollywood movies and cartoons. The real issue is why in reality human are not embracing it and even behaving quite opposite although such a concept is very easy to understand. There could be some reasons related to how we evolved till today and not many people really understand.
This line of reasoning also assumes that cooperation is some kind of ideal, however it's pretty clear that nature typically favors competition over cooperation.
If two alien species ever came into conflict, I'd place my bets on the species that has a rich history of competition and war rather than the one that favors peace and cooperation above all else.
Could be due to my work, but I picture it as an optimization strategy.
Mostly (60%?) keep doing the same proven things, and have some of the population undertake risky but promising endeavors. This way you keep exploiting the local maxima, but explore around it.
Not having everyone follow the same strategy can be a nice safeguard against extinction, I can see how it could be selected for. Cooperation isn't always the way to go for survival, especially when resources are scarce.
I wouldn't say "nature" favors one or the other. There's room for both, and one or the other will be better for the individual depending on the context. Individual survival has repercussions on species survival, thus can be selected for. Plus, if everyone is all-in on cooperation, anyone can come in and extract massive benefits from not playing by the rules (and vice-versa). Thus there is always a niche for both strategies: picture merchants vs local economies for instance.
Except that the species that essentially defeated nature and rose above it is defined by our ability to cooperate. Sure, competition is common in nature but that's why it can't win against a cooperative species. Cooperation is an ideal and its bizarre to me that we place competition on the pedestal that we do.
Competition gets you strong (or dead) individuals but weak societies.
