Long tails in distributions are troublesome for 2 reasons:

1. They are hard to test for empirically because they represent rare events. How they look like in any given model is more model-driven than data-driven.
2. Models which are modular, and construct the distribution of interest from many independent component distributions, tend to underestimate long tails in the distribution of interest. This is a problem of degree, not a black and white issue - theoretical proofs use absolutely independent component distributions, and using those proofs for real work requires an assessment of whether components are independent enough in reality. That assessment is non-trivial and all too often skipped.

1. Forcing a concession
2. Convincing the other person
3. Maximally updating your own beliefs

"I don't know which is worse... that everyone has his price, or that the price is always so low."
-- Hobbes

The capitalist framework is quite general, because as much as capitalist theories dictate when one should invest, they are completely agnostic as to what/when one should consume.

The idea of consumption is exogenous to capitalism and can be defined to be anything. For investment to take place, all that is required is a sufficiently low discount rate. For example, let's say you want to save starving children in Africa. If you value feeding 10000 starving children in a year more than you value feeding 1000 starving children now, you have a 900% discount rate and should invest in anything with greater than 900% annual return. This particular hurdle rate would almost be impossible to overcome, but most altruistic goals have lower discount rates than that.

Extra credit: does morality have a discount rate?