When I learned about the massive financial penalty imposed on Donald Trump, fraudster extraordinaire, I was delighted. Schadenfreude: taking pleasure in the pain or discomfort of others. It is derived from the German, compounded of “Schaden” (harm or pain) and “Freude” (joy). Although not generally seen as admirable, schadenfreude is widespread, perhaps a cross-cultural human universal that is so well-known that it’s typically Anglicized into lower case.
It might even have biological adaptive significance, because the key evolutionary concept of fitness is based on relative success, a fraction whose numerator is one’s own reproductive performance, with the denominator based on the larger population. Hence, fitness isn’t only enhanced when personal success increases, but also when that of others—especially if those others aren’t genetic relatives—goes down. And so, a case can be made that another’s decline can work to one’s benefit.
I don’t take pleasure in the ill fortune of anyone within my personal circle. Moreover, Trump’s daily affairs don’t impact my evolutionary trajectory. But it is entirely possible that the capacity for schadenfreude is deeply embedded in my psyche, and likely in that of others. If so, then it may well be especially evocable when people, even those outside one’s private ambit, have caused pain and discomfort. And my distaste for Trump, based on both his policies and his personal behavior, is such that he has caused me substantial pain and discomfort, such that any reciprocal pain and discomfort he experiences seems not just poetic justice, but social and biological justice as well.
I would expect similar eruptions of schadenfreude if bad things befall others on the world stage who have caused me pain because they have caused pain to others: Putin, Netanyahu, Yahya Sinwar. And that’s just a partial list.
There is some evidence that the propensity for schadenfreude varies inversely with one’s self-esteem, which makes sense insofar as individuals who are better off are less diminished by the success of others, hence they can afford to be more indifferent. They aren’t impacted by how those “below” them might fare, and therefore they aren’t particularly benefitted if they experience bad fortune. The converse also obtains: because of their vulnerability or powerlessness, those who are less successful are more liable to be threatened by others and therefore more buoyed by their failures. I don’t perceive myself as particularly unsuccessful, and yet, the actions of Donald Trump have made me feel vulnerable, angry, and powerless. So, it’s not surprising that I take pleasure in whatever causes him pain.
There can also be a justice-based underpinning to schadenfreude. This appears to be one basis for the widespread insistence that malefactors be punished, and the satisfaction that so many (albeit not everyone) feel when bad guys get what they deserve. It powers the classic Hollywood ending in which justice triumphs, evil-doers suffer for their crimes, and the viewer feels good.
On the other hand, schadenfreude seems generally dishonorable, or at least not something to crow about. It even evokes a Biblical critique and warning: "Rejoice not when thine enemy falleth, and let not thine heart be glad when he stumbleth: Lest the LORD see it, and it displease him, and he turn away his wrath from him." (Proverbs 24:17–18, King James version). Arthur Schopenhauer was similarly not a fan, having described schadenfreude as humanity’s most evil emotion: "To feel envy is human, to savor schadenfreude is diabolic."
Regardless, it is neurologically replicable. An fMRI study of New York Yankee and Boston Red Sox fans found that the pleasure centers of group members lit up when the other team experienced a set-back. Similarly, a different fMRI study revealed positive activation of brain regions when subjects were presented with punishment of those represented as perpetrators. It may also be noteworthy that men are more subject to this effect than are women.
Back to Trump. There are other negative outcomes that could well befall him, independent of his most recent, fraud-generated financial pain, each of which promises to be even more helpful in curtailing his harm to the country and the world. I’m rooting for all of them. Would I be happy if he were constitutionally barred from the presidency? Yes. Would I be happy if he were found guilty of racketeering and other crimes, federal as well as state, associated with his efforts to overturn the 2020 election? Yes. Would I be happy if he were convicted of feloniously stealing classified documents? Yes. Would I be happy if he were convicted of felonious business practices associated with his hush money payments? Yes. Would I be happy to see him jailed? Yes.
Would I feel guilty because of my Schadenfreude? Hell no!
David P. Barash is professor of psychology emeritus at the Univ. of Washington. Most recent book is Oops! The World’s Worst Blunders, from Pandora’s Box to Putin’s War.