The whole red vs blue button debate is funny to me because old warfare tactics literally relied on people standing their ground even if there was a certain risk of death. This was not made for altruistic reasons or saviour complex but just to assure the survival of most of your men.
Usually the most deaths happened during massive retreats, not during battles.
Untrained soldiers would retreat because they knew they could run away before total defeat in case things turned ugly, and in doing so they would leave their comrades behind and losing the battle. So battle tactics started to rely more on discipline, because they KNEW that if enough troops could hold a cavalry charge then there would be better chances to survive for the WHOLE army.
Of course, pushing a button and going to battle are two different things, but imo this is the closest real life example when your life was at stake and even so the collective was the more efficient way of survival than saving yourself, also war is the least altruistic thing ever so the "saviour complex" accusations fall flat here.