Basic Trope: A person holds a belief/position because they think they will benefit from the results or do not realize that they will suffer from the consequences.
- Straight: Bob supports the idea that Might Makes Right because he's used to being stronger than most.
- Exaggerated: Bob supports a plan that will lead to almost all people dying or being subjected to a Fate Worse than Death because he thinks he'll be one of the ones to live and prosper.
- Downplayed: Bob doesn't promote Might Makes Right, but he doesn't get involved in weaker groups' campaigns for more assistance from the strong because he thinks it would be a nuisance if such reforms passed.
- Justified:
- Bob has taken his privileged status for granted and does not understand that other groups might just suffer because of it.
- Bob is a Corrupt Politician or some other variety of selfish Jerkass who plans to exploit such a system to stay in power for as long as possible.
- Bob is mentally incapable of understanding how his beliefs could negatively affect him. Whether it's because he's a narcissist, a sociopath, or just really immature.
- Inverted:
- Bob supports the idea that Might Makes Right even though he knows he's one of the weaker ones.
- Bob supports a plan that would sacrifice himself and everything he has for the sake of others. Ironically, such selflessness and wisdom makes him a god.
- Bob fiercely opposes the idea that Might Makes Right. Despite his opposition, such a society is enacted, and Bob unexpectedly finds himself as one of the privileged elite, unable to appreciate his newfound power knowing that it would make him everything he used to oppose.
- Subverted:
- Bob supports the idea that might makes right ... but when questioned about his reasons, he says it's because only by putting its strongest individuals at the top can society remain safe from outside threats.
- Alice assumes that Bob will change his mind about the system when he no longer benefits from it, but he turns out to be a genuine believer in the system and willingly accepts his lot in life and the mistreatment he receives that results from it.
- Bob supports a plan that will kill a large number of people, but that's because he's a Death Seeker and believes that he'll be one of those who will die.
- Double Subverted:
- ...But that's just a line he feeds to the naïve; he really thinks he'll benefit.
- Bob still believes that in time he will benefit from the system once again, rather then fight against it.
- But he survives.
- Parodied: Bob states that everyone who sits on a counter should be executed — despite sitting on a counter himself.
- Zig-Zagged: Bob goes from supporting, opposing, to being neutral to the idea that Might Makes Right (or some other order of those).
- Averted: Bob's beliefs are entirely unrelated to perceived benefits or consequences.
- Enforced: The author is trying to insert An Aesop about blind self-interest.
- Lampshaded:Bob: I should've seen this coming. I supported absolute power for the strong and now I'm one of the slaves.
- Exploited: Alice gambits Bob into agreeing to his own doom by spelling out a plan for him that will require some sacrifices and letting him assume none of those will hurt him.
- Invoked: See Justified.
- Defied: Bob thinks through every implication of what the supposed social reformers are telling him before agreeing or disagreeing to their plan.
- Discussed: "I'm worried for Bob. He is so obsessed with the idea of Might Makes Right, but he doesn't realize that he will not necessarily benefit from it in the end."
- Conversed: "Ha, ha! I can see where the movie's going with this. He's making plans for an awful system, and he never even considers whether he'll do well in it if the system succeeds!"
- Played for Laughs: Bob is required to spend a long time making goofy faces and standing in silly poses.
- Played for Drama: Bob is required to hurt himself.
- Implied: Bob moans about the hard life he has as an underling and how awful the system of Might Makes Right is and then says, "Would you believe I agreed to this?"
- Plotted a Perfectly Good Waste: Bob's support of a tyrannical system stems from the notion that he will never, ever in a million years be a victim of it himself. When he is, he's ultimately so incapable of recognizing the myopia that he blames an individual, or women, or an entire ethnic and/or religious group, or what have you who had absolutely nothing to do with his plight and swears eternal vengeance on them.
Back to Original Position Fallacy.
