I'm reading about a hypothetical scenario called the dollar auction lately.
Two rational actors are both in an auction for a dollar bill. The rules are simple:
1. Each bid has to be higher than the previous bid.
2. Each actor has to pay their bid at the close of the auction, regardless of if they win or lose.
The result is interesting. Think about it. The first actor has an incentive to bid $.01 (and gain $.99, the second has an incentive to bid $.02, and gain $.98 ... When the second actor bids $1.00 (the value of the dollar), the first actor is facing a loss of $.99, and has a very rational incentive to bid $1.01 - reducing his or her loss to $.01. Of course, then the second actor has a rational incentive to bid $1.02, reducing his or her loss to $.02...
I'm trying to think of a real-world scenario in capitalism.