Yeah, that'd sound about right... if it were just sadism, that is! Humans use despair to their own ends all the time, without getting gratification from inflicting pain on others. It's just as much of a swiss army knife as hope can be! It's way too simple to boil down, you know?

Heroism, even when someone 100% thinks they're doing good, still profits at the despair of someone else most of the time! Huzzah to the cop that shot the robber! Pity the robber's family has to bury them now, but he was a bad guy, so it's okay, right? Even moreso, you nail a drug addict at the lowest point in their life, and you throw them in with people just as bad as them-- ensuring almost none of them will ever get help!

No matter how you cut it, good vs. evil is just survival of the fittest, baby!