Please point to an actual historical period where people did not pursue their self-interest. It's intrinsically human to want something better and takes steps to achieve it, regardless the society, currency, etc.

You are confusing profit motive for something better or more money = wealth, which it does not. Christians were originally anti-Usury. Our current system is based on Usury.

You could convert 50 cents to gold dust, silver, bitcoin, whatever you prefer, the argument stands. The point is that economies of scale produces goods like this plastic tin of peaches CHEAP, much cheaper than he ever could in his backyard, because he isn't processing 100,000 peaches at a time and distributing through Walmart.

That's because price is a metaphysical reality. If we created an economy around welfare of the laborer and the fruits s/he produces rather than destroy him, then all would be good. Again, the sacrafice quota illustrates the barbarity in all of this.