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Pragmatic Villainy: Difference between revisions
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{{trope}}
[[File:sphinxnochildren 6844.png|link=Subnormality|
{{quote|''"The true interest of an absolute monarch generally coincides with that of his people. Their numbers, their wealth, their order, and their security, are the best and only foundations of his real greatness; and were he totally devoid of virtue, prudence might supply its place, and would dictate the same rule of conduct."''
|'''Edward Gibbon''', ''The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire'', Chapter V}}
A subversion of the [[Even Evil Has Standards]] trope, when a villain refuses to [[Kick the Dog|do something abhorrent]] not because it is too horrible, but rather because [[Stupid Evil|it is too inefficient or ineffective]], or there isn't much to be gained from it. He's tried [[Kick the Dog|kicking the dog]] or at least studied those who have. No matter the combination of dogs and boots, and he's investigated thoroughly, there [[Cut Lex Luthor a Check|just isn't any profit]] and one's toes tend to hurt after a while. Also, [[The Dog Bites Back|dogs sometimes manage to sink their teeth into their tormentors]]. In some ways, the pragmatic villain can actually be more dangerous than a typical [[Card-Carrying Villain]] because he is almost invariably resolute in his determination not to carry the [[Villain Ball]]. What he does all depends on [[Stock Evil Overlord Tactics|which option]] would [[Evil Plan|serve his purposes]] best. Being evil for these types just means that they have all the illegal and immoral options available to them in addition to the more legitimate (or at least socially respectable) tactics they usually prefer.
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