“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.

  • some_designer_dude@lemmy.world
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    3 days ago

    Like… Durh he believes this. He lived this and won pretty handily by never giving a shit about anyone. Now he’s the richest and most powerful person alive, so obviously he’s onto something! All this money can’t be wrong!

  • nuko147@lemm.ee
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    3 days ago

    Empathy is Weakness. In almost all movies they tell about that. Well not the good guys. Hell Emperor Palpatine.

  • Allonzee@lemmy.world
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    3 days ago

    If empathy is the weakness to my species, I’m glad we’re committing suicide by capitalist made climate change.

    Without empathy, we have no redeeming characteristics and nothing of value will be lost.

    • explodicle@sh.itjust.works
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      3 days ago

      Psychopaths can still be valuable members of society as surgeons who aren’t freaked out by cutting into people. Their lives are worth something.

      We’ve just got an economic system that puts them exclusively in charge.

  • Kane@femboys.biz
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    3 days ago

    I thought we were finally over the fact that it is no longer a “bad thing”-to show publicly. I still remember high school days days, where showing any kind of a fear or other emotion, was seen as a weakness.

    My hope is is that the youth does not copy-cat this psychotic behavior too much.

    • boreengreen@lemm.ee
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      3 days ago

      Musk is a little childish. Probably some developmental deficiencies going on there.

  • johncandy1812@lemmy.ca
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    3 days ago

    Greatest thing I did with my life was to increase my understanding of other people’s lives. He is toxic, whether he’s trolling or not

      • BananaTrifleViolin@lemmy.world
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        3 days ago

        No, as a lack of empathy isn’t the only defining characteristic of psychopathy. There is also a lack of remorse, disinhibition, and egocentrism amongst other traits.

        A lack of empathy alone doesn’t make someone a psychopath. For example some people on the autistic spectrum can exhibit a lack of empathy but are not psychopaths. (Should be noted a lack of empathy is not a defining feature of autism - its variable and a lot of people on the autistic spectrum do have empathy).

        So its true to say a lack of empathy is a feature of psychopathy but not true to say that psychopathy is the inability to be empathetic.

          • barsoap@lemm.ee
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            3 days ago

            Cognitive empathy, yes, absolutely, affective empathy, no. Difference between flinching when someone gets hurt and understanding that someone gets hurt, including the theory of mind to understand that they don’t like that. Which is why the well-adjusted ones (mostly a function of nurture) make damn good surgeons. Maladapted ones will use that (very acute) cognitive empathy to do the usual dark triad stuff.

          • meyotch@slrpnk.net
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            3 days ago

            No, I think another way to say it is that lack of empathy is a necessary, but not sufficient, criterion for it.

      • Ben Hur Horse Race@lemm.ee
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        3 days ago

        yes, the problem with having an ignorant idiot of a host/presenter have all these hugely influential people with their half baked ideas as guests is that he can’t/won’t point out basic facts like how a lack of empathy is indicative of anti-social personality disorder and narcissistic personality disorder.

        so, you’ve got how many bros who think “empathy is a bug” is a statement that doesn’t need to be challenged out there… repeating it in their heads.

        Roegan just lets them talk, its a forum for everybody!

  • snekerpimp@lemmy.world
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    3 days ago

    Sweet. So we shouldn’t feel empathetic towards him, and if we feel he needs to be out of politics, we should do what is necessary and without empathy or emotion. Just as he is non empathetic as he kills, rapes and steals just so he can fill that empty void his parents not loving him left.

  • skhayfa@lemmy.world
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    The death of human empathy is one of the earliest and most telling signs of a culture about to fall into barbarism.

    — Hannah Arendt

  • ssillyssadass@lemmy.world
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    2 days ago

    Empathy is a weakness for sociopaths, and only sociopaths can be billionaires. So it’s not a universal weakness, but it is a weakness for him.

  • justsomeguy@lemmy.world
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    3 days ago

    Billions of years of evolution leading to this. Tons of research with the same result. Nope, says narcissistic sociopath, you’re all wrong and I’m right.

    • qprimed@lemmy.ml
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      3 days ago

      “4 billion years between our ears, still hatred brings us many tears”