An apparently Pareto-dominated change in social policy, in which some members are made worse off, and everyone else is unaffected may not actually be Pareto dominated if you consider the externality of Schadenfreude. Those who are directly unaffected may actually experience increased utility due to taking pleasure in others' misfortune.
(Technically, it might not be an externality.)
This idea was inspired about thinking why someone would vote to ban gay marriage in California. If the proposition should pass, they can take pleasure (in these otherwise hard economic and terrorizing times) in the unhappiness of gays who will be unable to marry.
Yes, this is horrible. But it is real, and if the government's job is to make people happy, it cannot be ignored.
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