What would drive the human being further?

This night I had a long conversation with a friend of mine who happens to be a communist about capitalism versus communism. Normally I don't like to discuss politics, perhaps because I don't know enough about politics and history to participate in any solid discussion. However I'm always fascinated by people who believe that a near perfect world with no poverty is possible. To quote my friend:

"what would drive the human being further?
the willingness to achieve more...Together right now we work/live/die only to satisfy our needs, what if we worked to satisfy the needs of the
society?"

I believe the human being is selfish, just like all other organisms are selfish. That is not something evil, it's just how we are (genetically) programmed. We care more about our own and our offsprings health then we do about our neighbors, not something we should be ashamed of, should we? Our programmed selfishness has helped us to prosper and grow, or atleast, prevent our extinction :)
Abuse... The wealthy abusing the poor, Rich men getting richer, Poor men strugling. Everybody can see examples of this when willing to open the eyes, but isn't this something which is happening as long as humans have been living together? Unlike my communist friend who thinks that this "abuse" is caused by an incapable capitalist system, I think abuse of others human beings is inherent to the selfish nature of humans.