The realization that genes are selfish also explains excesses in the plant kingdom. Simply to overtop rival trees. Then they would get exactly the same amount of sunlight with far less expenditure on thick trunks and massive suppordng buttresses. But if they all were short, natural selection could not help favoring a variant individual that grew a little taller. The ante having been upped, others would have to follow suit.
Nothing can stop the whole game from escalating until all trees are ludicrously and wastefully tall.
God's Utility Function seldom turns out to be the greatest good for the greatest number. God's Utility Function betrays its origins in an uncoordinated scramble for selfish gain. To return to our pessimistic beginning, maximization of DNA survival is not a recipe for happiness. So long as DNA is passed on, it does not matter who or what gets hurt in the process. Genes don't care about suffering, because they don't care about anything.