>Sadism is protean
No Ted, words have meanings. Check your dictionary, "sadism" ought to be in there, with a definition.
>Short term pain for long term gain is one of its forms. This is
>revealed by the fact that, while the short term pain is certain,
Is it?
> no rational ground is available for predicting the long run gain.
An interesting assertion. I had the impression that reasons were in fact given for believing there would be a pay-off in the case in point. You may have detected some flaws in the reasoning given, but to falsely assert that no reasoning was provided seems to be overstating things.
> Keynes explained the psychology of "financial puritanism" -
>"sadomonetarism" - in this way. The mistaken use of "remorseless"
>logic - e.g. the "logic" of game theory, the "logic" of capital - to
>predict the future and hence "hide from ourselves how little we
>foresee" is another of these forms. Keynes pointed to Hayek as
>exemplifying both the "financial puritan" and the "remorseless
>logician."
You say this as if the fact that these people expressed these beliefs, sufficient basis for believing it to be so. Is that a rationale?
>The forms vary in the degree of psychopathology they express e.g.
>contemptuous irony is more civilized than revenge beheading.
You would disagree? You would perhaps prefer to be beheaded? I'm a little unclear what you are getting at here, why not just come right out and say it in your own words?
Bill Bartlett Bracknell Tas