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submitted 1 day ago by Mee@reddthat.com to c/politics@lemmy.world

“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.

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[-] throbbing_banjo@lemmy.world 15 points 17 hours ago

For those of you who haven't yet, it's a good idea to familiarize yourself with Curtis Yarvin's "Dark Enlightenment Theory," because that's what's informing all of these chuds.

JD Vance has cited this guy. Peter Thiel is a huge fan. Based on his views, Musk is almost certainly reading this stuff.

The "theory" basically boils down to that tenet: empathy is weakness, might makes right, and it's only natural for the strong to dominate and brutalize the weak.

Remember that kid in elementary school who refused to play with anyone at recess and just spent the whole time frying ants with a magnifying glass? That kid grew up and has an "intellectual following" now.

[-] kittenzrulz123 13 points 18 hours ago* (last edited 18 hours ago)

Empathy is strength, love is strength, unity is strength, solidarity is strength, divided we may fall but as one united working class we can stand forever.

While we stand together they tear eachother apart and in their disunity we the workers shall have our revolution. For they are weak and we are strong, they produce nothing and we create all of the value.

[-] SaraTonin@lemm.ee 14 points 20 hours ago

The fact that this is even a real headline should trouble everybody. I know the answer, but the question still is:” what kind of a state is the USA in where someone even feels the need to write this, rather than it being an assumed norm?”

[-] Wilco@lemm.ee 33 points 23 hours ago

Musk: "The fundamental weakness is empathy" Also Musk: "Why are people so mean to me"

[-] Tail11@lemmy.world 7 points 19 hours ago

Oxy, meet moron.

[-] Guns0rWeD13@lemmy.world 5 points 18 hours ago

he's right. we need to let go of our own empathy to make us more effective soldiers in the fight to defeat him and the people like him.

i look forward to the day when these guys beg for mercy as we ease them into their excruciating fate with cold, unblinking eyes.

[-] Showroom7561@lemmy.ca 41 points 1 day ago

You know who lacks empathy? Psychopaths.

This paper says this about it:

Importantly, empathy is such an essential component of healthy human social interactions that absence of it may lead to severe social and cognitive dysfunctions. A personality structure often marked by a lack of empathy is psychopathic personality.

Musk is once again pretending to know about things he's clueless about.

[-] sik0fewl@lemmy.ca 16 points 1 day ago

Lack of empathy is how I characterize Republicans or conservatives in general. It explains every single one of their policy position.

[-] Ledericas@lemm.ee 9 points 1 day ago

there also very good at pretending to have empathy, which is another key trait. hence why we seen "so many people" become super right wing as time goes on.

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[-] Ledericas@lemm.ee 14 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago)

he has neither intelligence or empathy. he turned intoa space karen, because he mangled his penis in a botched surgery

[-] DogEarBookmark@reddthat.com 6 points 23 hours ago

I'm down with calling him Space Karen from now on, actually.

All opposed?

[-] Gurei@sh.itjust.works 43 points 1 day ago

Empathy is one of the foundational blocks of the society he abuses.

[-] whaleiam@lemm.ee 10 points 1 day ago

Musk is a weakness

[-] ArchmageAzor@lemmy.world 22 points 1 day 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.

[-] Kumasousa@lemmy.zip 35 points 1 day ago

The fact he says this, he proves that he really never cared for the human good, all that talk was just to people buy his shit.

[-] moitoi@lemmy.dbzer0.com 38 points 1 day ago

I guess it closes the debate about Musk being autistic. Autistics are more likely to be hyper empathetic.

[-] b161 28 points 1 day ago

Narcissists can display similar traits similar to autistic people. You’re right, he’s not autistic, just a narcissist.

[-] slingstone@lemmy.world 9 points 1 day ago

Narcissistic Personality Disorder, perhaps?

[-] HawlSera@lemm.ee 13 points 1 day ago

Speaking as someone who is autistic, autism is rarely a one-size fits all diagnosis.

While Hyper Empathy can be a side-effect of Autism, another is the exact opposite where your sense of empathy is limited to "So what have you done for me lately?", in this case the person has absolutely no understanding of interaction outside of it being transactional.

Musk is definitely this kind

[-] moitoi@lemmy.dbzer0.com 1 points 21 hours ago

First, I didn't write all of them.

Now on the subject of autism and empathy, empathy is widely misinterpreted and misunderstood in autistics. The lack of empathy stereotype is based on the deficit model of autism and therefore on the lack of theory of mind. This model has roots in eugenic and neocolonialism (also known as neurocolonialism) and is deeply ableist.

We have great research with good methodology and ethics (the opposite is true for the deficit model) about autistics not lacking theory of mind and being empathetic (often hyper empathetic). They just show empathy differently than the neurotypical. This is in fact true for many stereotypes about autism. Autism is a different cognitive style to process information, communicate (including emotions) and learn.

It's where the Double Empathy Problem of Dr. Damian Milton comes in. It's the difference and not the lack between two or more individuals/group of individuals that makes the understanding issue.

We are plenty of autistics on Lemmy.

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[-] glitchdx@lemmy.world 37 points 1 day ago

Empathy is a skill and he doesn't have it.

[-] UnderpantsWeevil@lemmy.world 16 points 1 day ago

It's a useful skill if you're trying to cultivate a popular following. The funny thing is that he used to have it and was quite good at feeling people out for a popular vibe. Now he's too ketted out to feel anything. Just a rolling ball of Id, bouncing between hungry, cranky, and horny.

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[-] evergreen@lemmy.world 31 points 1 day ago

Empathy as a weakness is exactly what I'd expect to hear from a sociopath. If everybody thought this way, we'd have no civilized society.

[-] drascus@sh.itjust.works 12 points 1 day ago

What an asshole

[-] MuskyMelon@lemmy.world 177 points 1 day ago

The lack of empathy, however, has been linked to psychopathy by study after study after study.

[-] mimavox@lemm.ee 70 points 1 day ago

Yep. They can't even comprehend the notion.

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[-] prole 59 points 1 day ago

Fuck Joe Rogan for letting him say shit like that unchecked.

[-] el_muerte@lemm.ee 36 points 1 day ago

Fuck Joe Rogan, period.

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[-] futatorius@lemm.ee 92 points 1 day ago

Believing empathy is a weakness is a symptom of psychopathy.

[-] truthfultemporarily@feddit.org 63 points 1 day ago

Ohh now it all makes sense.

Dude got bullied, felt miserable and couldn't deal with that. So he convinced himself to try and not feel feelings. Spoiler: doesn't work and often ends in drug addiction.

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[-] fluxion@lemmy.world 29 points 1 day ago

"I'm a sociopath." - Elon Musk

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[-] pyre@lemmy.world 20 points 1 day ago

#shitsociopathssay

[-] Australis13@fedia.io 70 points 1 day ago

He's really leaning into the villain trope. So many sci-fi villains claim that empathy and/or compassion are weaknesses. Their lack of it is usually their undoing.

[-] Allonzee@lemmy.world 28 points 1 day 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.

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[-] Hyphlosion@lemm.ee 7 points 1 day ago

That… Makes absolutely no sense.

[-] CrystalRainwater 17 points 1 day ago

I get saying it's wrong what he said (you would be right) but imo it's kinda missing the point. The most important thing to see imo is it's extremely pathetic. This is the same mf faking Path of Exile and diablo accounts so he can seem cool (he kept saying he was a top player so he would get kudos from the gaming community).

This man is probably the most thin skinned idiot I've ever seen. So it must be extremely convenient for him to see himself as the bad guy with no empathy whose cold rational calculation leads to emotionless decisions or whatever huge cope he tells himself every day. The reality is he's got more money than God and is running the current US administration and yet is still so mentally weak he is posting on Twitter hundreds of times per day about how he's being persecuted and actually arguing in the comment sections

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this post was submitted on 19 Mar 2025
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