This is exactly it, beautifully put. It's very easy and tempting to hide behind an ideology that makes broad-stroke descriptions about the entire world. "It's just how the world works", "it's simply basic economics" (really, nearly all claims about "basic" anything with no further nuance). But for people who are entrenched in their opinions, I don't think there's a lot of absolution or guilt going on. To the most dedicated believers, the belief had become a part of their identity, so vindicating it is almost integral to their being. Of course they'd want anyone who disagrees to suffer - they don't just view that as an inevitability, but also the morally correct thing, the appropriate punishment to the people for not accepting their obvious truth.