{"id":46104,"date":"2025-07-09T15:58:11","date_gmt":"2025-07-09T15:58:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/buildersmovement.org\/?p=46104"},"modified":"2025-07-09T15:58:11","modified_gmt":"2025-07-09T15:58:11","slug":"the-problem-with-empathy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/buildersmovement.org\/2025\/07\/09\/the-problem-with-empathy\/","title":{"rendered":"The Problem with Empathy"},"content":{"rendered":"

Empathy used to be a universal moral good. The ability to feel another person\u2019s emotions proved you were a decent person who cared about suffering and injustice. It was something to cultivate, not question.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Now? In some political circles, it might as well be a slur.<\/span><\/p>\n

In recent years, empathy has come under siege\u2014from conservatives who see it as weakness and from liberals who wield it like a sword.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

In both cases, the concept has become so emotionally charged that it’s worth asking: Is the word actually dividing us more?\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The Right-Wing Rejection of Empathy<\/b><\/h3>\n

Earlier this year, Elon Musk told Joe Rogan on <\/span>The Joe Rogan Experience<\/span><\/i> podcast that \u201cthe fundamental weakness of Western civilization is empathy.\u201d He called it an \u201cempathy exploit,\u201d suggesting that empathy has become a kind of cheat code used to guilt well-meaning people into making irrational or harmful decisions.<\/span><\/p>\n

That idea, once fringe, began in conservative Christian nationalist circles. Books like <\/span>Toxic Empathy<\/span><\/i> and <\/span>The Sin of Empathy<\/span><\/i> argue that progressives use emotional appeals to hijack Christian values and advance left-leaning agendas. The premise? If you\u2019re feeling guilt, pity, or empathy, you\u2019re probably being conned.<\/span><\/p>\n

The left <\/span>argues<\/span><\/a> that this idea resonates with the right because it offers a tidy escape hatch. Consider the 4-year-old cancer patient who was <\/span>deported<\/span><\/a> without medication in April. That\u2019s hard to square with most people’s moral framework. But if you believe emotions are suspect\u2014tools of manipulation\u2014then the problem isn\u2019t immigration policy, it\u2019s the bleeding hearts who want you to care about it. The feeling becomes the enemy, not the action.<\/span><\/p>\n

Critics of empathy\u2014particularly on the right\u2014would argue that the liberal media promoted this story to generate an irrational emotional response. It zooms in on one heartbreaking case while ignoring the broader reality: that such extreme outcomes are rare, and that enforcing immigration laws has overall benefits for national stability and public resources. In their view, empathy can cloud judgment, making it harder to weigh long-term outcomes or uphold difficult policies that serve the greater good.<\/span><\/p>\n

The Liberal Weaponization of Empathy<\/b><\/h3>\n

On the left, empathy is often wielded as a moral bludgeon. Disagree with a progressive policy? You must not care about anyone but yourself.<\/span><\/p>\n

This has the effect of moralizing disagreement: conservatives aren\u2019t just wrong, they\u2019re heartless or evil.<\/span><\/p>\n

This tendency doesn\u2019t just shut down conversation. It actually backfires. A 2023 <\/span>study<\/span><\/a> found that conservatives consistently show more cross-party empathy than liberals. In hypothetical scenarios, conservatives extended more empathy to suffering liberals than liberals extended to conservatives. Why? Because liberals tended to judge conservatives as more harmful and therefore less deserving of empathy.<\/span><\/p>\n

In other words, the political side that champions empathy is also more likely to withhold it from people they disagree with. That kind of moral gatekeeping creates barriers to cooperation and can even be used to justify dehumanization. It doesn\u2019t build bridges\u2014it burns them right down.<\/span><\/p>\n

Empathy Still Matters\u2014But It Isn\u2019t Enough<\/b><\/h3>\n

The core idea behind empathy\u2014the ability to understand and care about people who are not like you\u2014is essential for any functioning society. It\u2019s the soil out of which solidarity grows. It drives our shared pursuit of dignity, freedom, and a world where everyone is treated with respect. But as a guiding principle for public life, it\u2019s become too messy, too misunderstood, and too easily weaponized.<\/span><\/p>\n

It\u2019s also an unproductive endpoint. What good is feeling someone\u2019s pain if you do nothing to help them?<\/span><\/p>\n

So maybe it\u2019s time to try a different word.<\/span><\/p>\n

Compassion Is The Better Roadmap<\/b><\/h3>\n

In his book<\/span> Against Empathy: The Case for Rational Compassion<\/span><\/i>, Yale psychologist Paul Bloom argues that empathy\u2014at least as most of us understand it\u2014is a flawed guide for making moral decisions. It\u2019s too narrow. Too biased. And too emotionally draining to be sustainable.<\/span><\/p>\n

Empathy, Bloom explains, tends to zero in on individual stories and vivid emotions. It makes us feel deeply for <\/span>one<\/span><\/i> person while ignoring the needs of many others. That spotlight effect may help us connect in the moment, but it can also distort our priorities, lead to burnout, and\u2014even unintentionally\u2014feed into tribal thinking. We\u2019re wired to empathize more easily with people who look like us, think like us, or remind us of ourselves. And in a diverse, pluralistic society, that\u2019s a dangerous limitation.<\/span><\/p>\n

So what\u2019s the alternative? Bloom offers a different path: compassion.<\/span><\/p>\n

While some conservatives reject empathy as emotional manipulation, and some liberals cling to it as a moral litmus test, compassion sidesteps the impasse.<\/b><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Unlike empathy, compassion doesn\u2019t ask us to <\/span>feel<\/span><\/i> someone else\u2019s suffering as our own. Instead, it invites us to recognize suffering, care about it, and act intentionally to reduce it. It\u2019s the difference between being swept away by someone\u2019s emotional current, and calmly offering a steady hand. And crucially, compassion can scale. It doesn\u2019t collapse under the weight of a thousand tragedies\u2014it gets stronger with use.<\/span><\/p>\n

That shift in framing\u2014from \u201cfeel what I feel\u201d to \u201ccare enough to help\u201d\u2014could offer a bridge in our polarized culture. <\/span>While some conservatives reject empathy as emotional manipulation, and some liberals cling to it as a moral litmus test, compassion sidesteps the impasse. It doesn\u2019t demand emotional conformity or deny emotional reality. It simply asks: What can I do to reduce harm?<\/span><\/p>\n

If both sides could agree to lead with compassion instead of competing narratives of outrage or detachment, we might finally get somewhere.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u2014Alex Buscemi (abuscemi@buildersmovement.org<\/a>)<\/p>\n

We\u2019re a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization on a mission to overcome our most toxic divides.
\n<\/span><\/em>Sign up<\/a> for our FREE weekly newsletter.<\/span><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Empathy used to be a universal moral good. The ability to feel another person\u2019s emotions proved you were a decent person who cared about suffering and injustice. It was something to cultivate, not question.\u00a0 Now? In some political circles, it might as well be a slur. In recent years, empathy has come under siege\u2014from conservatives…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":40,"featured_media":46105,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"collection_feed":[],"type_feed":[77],"class_list":["post-46104","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nThe Problem with Empathy - Builders<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Republicans reject it. Liberals weaponize it. 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