This article explores how empathy has become a 'dirty word' in modern politics, particularly among the hard right in the US and Britain. It details how figures like Robert Jenrick, Elon Musk, and right-wing academics promote the idea of 'suicidal empathy,' viewing compassion as a weakness that threatens Western civilization, contrasting this with historical Christian values of care for the vulnerable.
John Harris's article reveals a disturbing trend where empathy is increasingly demonized in politics, particularly by the hard right in the US and Britain. The piece highlights figures like Robert Jenrick, who, as Reform's Treasury spokesman, advocates cutting welfare by labeling state compassion as 'suicidal empathy,' a term borrowed from academic Gad Saad's book endorsed by Elon Musk. Musk himself declares empathy a 'bug' in Western civilization that progressives exploit. The article critiques Saad's book as a 'baggy mess' that blames 'degenerate woke-ism' on women's emotional susceptibility and forms part of the philosophical core of Trumpism – where might is right and compassion is for 'wimps.' This moral counter-revolution is reflected in polling data, showing a significant percentage of US Republicans and white evangelical Protestants view empathy as dangerous. JD Vance, a potential Trump successor, also expresses a narrow view of Christian compassion, prioritizing family and nation over the wider world. The author contrasts this anti-empathy stance with the historical Christian revolution detailed by Tom Holland in 'Dominion,' which transformed Roman society by emphasizing care for the vulnerable, orphans, and the sick, leading to the emergence of social security systems. The article traces this shift in Britain back to Margaret Thatcher's pragmatic, less empathetic interpretation of Christian teaching. Harris concludes that this widespread attack on compassion, exemplified by politicians advocating letting migrants drown and accusing lifeboat services of complicity, represents a serious moral departure that election results alone will struggle to reverse, leaving virtues like kindness gathering dust.
