In a theoretical world, rational actors would never take the dominated option. We don't live in that world. In our world, the one making the choice may not be

In a theoretical world, rational actors would never take the dominated option. We don't live in that world. In our world, the one making the choice may not be the one adversely affected. There may be disagreement about the best action. There may be unavoidable risks. Examples: thermonuclear war, global warming, predatory lending, biological weapons... Consider a hypothetical doomsday device that could be developed in a garage. The "all options are a net good" principle is just not a very useful one in practice. We've always been pessimistic about human nature. Advancing technology raises the stakes.