Spite is good. Science agrees. Tim Martin agrees.

The New York Times recently published a piece entitled Spite is Good. Spite Works. Research seems to indicate that human decency and cooperation require “a certain degree of so-called altruistic punishment: the willingness of some individuals to punish rule breakers even when the infraction does not directly affect them — challenging the guy who broke into the line behind you, for example.”

I have been known to act spitefully from time to time. I maintain an “I told you so” calendar, for example, and consider the words “I told you so” to be the best four words in the English language.   

I may have even attempted to coin the phrase, “The best reason to do anything is spite.”

As you might imagine, I was thrilled to see the New York Times piece. It’s always nice to see that science is on my side.

Before you disagree, consider this enlightening story:

J D Wetherspoon is a well known, highly respected British pub chain.

Founded in 1979 by Tim Martin, the company owns over 900 outlets. The company also operates the Lloyds No. 1 chain and a number of Wetherspoon Hotels. It has become known for converting large, unconventional premises into pubs.

The J D Wetherspoon name comes from one of Martin's teachers in New Zealand who could not control his class, and told Tim that he would never succeed in business.

The man named his business out of spite.

It’s not hard to imagine that spite was probably a primary motivator in Tim Martin’s success.

Tim Burton apparently agrees: Spite is the best reason to do anything

From the Wikipedia entry on Jack Nicholson (and confirmed on IMDB and several other independent sources):

In 1996, Nicholson collaborated with Batman director Tim Burton on Mars Attacks!, pulling double duty as two contrasting characters, President James Dale and Las Vegas property developer Art Land.

At first studio executives at Warner Bros. disliked the idea of killing off Nicholson's character, so Burton created two characters for Nicholson instead and killed them both off.

I suspect that Tim Burton and I would get along rather well.

I’m not spiteful. I’m “aggressively moralistic.”

For a long time, I have claimed that spite is one of the best reasons to do anything.

I’ve cited examples in which authors and scientists have used spite to motivate them to great achievements. 

I’ve written about how spite is one of my 5 primary motivating factors in life. 

I’ve argued that spite is one of three possible steps to happiness in your professional life.

I’ve even written about how a positive attitude can be utilized in the pursuit of spite.

Then I listened to the most recent episode of the Freakonomics podcast, which addressed the economics of spite, and it turns out that I am not spiteful after all.

Spite, by definition, requires a person to actively harm him or herself in the pursuit of harming another.

When I told a friend about this definition, he said, “Oh no. You’d never harm yourself for anyone. You’re far too selfish for that.”

He’s right.

Instead, it turns out that I am aggressively moralistic, a state in which I am willing to bring harm to those I feel are deserving while receiving no discernible or tangible benefit in the process.

From an economist’s view, aggressively moralistic is a more sensible position than spite simply because it does not come with any cost except for time and effort.

It is still an economically unwise decision according to economists, because effort and time spent absent of reward is not economically sound, but not nearly as foolish or personally damaging as spite.

I would argue, however, that economists are disregarding the value of personal satisfaction and the potential joy associated with metering out justice, delivering a deserving bit of comeuppance or being able to say the four best words in the English language:

I told you so. 

These may not be the rewards that economists value, but for me, there are few things that I enjoy more.

Spite is right

I’ve often said that spite is the best reason to do anything. Here is further evidence of this fact:

British scientist John Gurdon is told by his high school teacher that there was no hope of him ever studying science, and that doing so would be a complete waste of time for him and anyone forced to teach him.

Gurdon was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology this year for his discovery that mature cells can be reprogrammed to become immature cells, capable of developing into all tissues of the body. Their findings have revolutionized our understanding of how cells and organisms develop.

Though it is highly unlikely given Gurdon’s age, I hope that his high school teacher lived long enough to eat his words.