Most people are interested more in what will benefit them than strangers. Aligning self-interest with the concerns of other people is what well-designed incentives should do. In the case of politics, this is often not the case. A politician is rational to push a policy that garners short-term favour among voters but is ruinous in the longer-term. An example is the promiser high-pensions for those working now. The pensions will need to be paid for long after the politician is out of office. Speaking up is disincentivised because dissenters understandably care about their careers.

During the Stalin era in the Soviet Union, there were severe mining equipment shortages. The manufacturer held desperately needed machines in storage because the officially-mandate red colour of paint had run out. The manager of the factory was not irrational or even incompetent, just concerned with his wellbeing.