“The fundamental weakness is empathy,” Musk recently told radio podcast host Joe Rogan. “There is a bug, which is the empathy response.”
As Musk has established himself as at least the second most powerful person in an administration seeking a wholesale remaking of institutions, rules and norms, what he said matters, because it encapsulates a political plan. What the Project 2025 report set out in over 900 turgid pages, Musk’s remark captures in a simple pithy mantra for the social media age.
Empathy is an ability not a skill. It’s not a mundane tool to get what you want.
you’re right, it’s not a tool to get what you want
it’s a tool to not be a horrible person
It is a inbuilt limit that prevents (most of us) from doing harm to our fellow humans, and to shun from society those that do. It is the very core of why humanity has reached the modern society with a high quality of life.
Plenty of conmen and torturers can tell you differently. Whether your soul can bear the burden of your actions is far removed from what you can accomplish with your abilities.