This paper explores the concept of altruism within economic systems, defined here as actions that consciously act against one’s own economic self-interest. We begin with a review of economic literature where altruism is scarcely mentioned but indirectly addressed in discussions of regulatory frameworks, property rights, and market dynamics. Biological theories of altruism, specifically inclusive fitness, are then examined to highlight how evolutionary biology explains self-sacrificial behavior, such as kamikaze and suicide attacks, in ways that contrast sharply with economic models based on rational self-interest. Using a Nash Equilibrium model, we predict how altruism functions in real-world economic transactions, outlining interactions between fake altruism, semi-altruism, and pure altruism, and demonstrating that pure altruism leads to consistent economic losses for the altruistic individual. Simulation results show that injecting 30% altruism into a scarcity-driven economy results in widespread poverty for most participants, confirming that pure altruism is unsustainable in such environments. However, cultural conditioning, as demonstrated through Hofstede’s model of national cultures, suggests that altruism is a more complex and variable phenomenon than simple economic or biological models account for. This paper concludes that more research is needed to incorporate cultural, psychological, and environmental factors into the study of altruism in economic science, as current models oversimplify the nuanced landscape of altruistic behavior.