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The Politics of Pity For a decade, the West has argued whether empathy should be its highest value. Some praise it as a superpower; others call it harmful. Gad Saad’s “Suicidal Empathy” topped the New York Times list. Elon Musk called empathy a weakness; John C. Reilly called it a superpower. Ideas should be judged by consequences. Compassion-justified policies have coincided with worse addiction and homelessness, rising crime, mass migration, social fragmentation, higher living costs, and controversial medical interventions for gender-dysphoric minors. When these fail, advocates often claim it was not implemented “strongly enough.” ## An Inversion of Truth A quote often attributed to Hannah Arendt claims “the death of human empathy” precedes barbarism, but no source supports it, and her writings argued almost the opposite. Arendt contrasted the American Revolution’s institutions and law with the French revolutionaries’ “politics of pity.” Pity is not compassion: it ranks “fortunate” and “unfortunate,” grants the pitier moral authority, and overrides rights. Arendt argued this enabled Robespierre’s Terror. ## The Trojan Horse Empathy can become projection—imposing your values as if they were others’ needs. Adam Smith warned about the “man of system.” Nietzsche described societies so “soft and tender” they side with those who harm them. Orwell noted equality preaching alongside elite privilege. Rob Henderson calls these “luxury beliefs.” I call it suicidal narcissism: acquiring moral status by appearing compassionate while policies erode the foundations others rely on. The reward is immediate; the damage comes later.

Leftist “Empathy” Is Actually Narcissism Leftist “empathy” is often narcissism, not real compassion. Over the past decade, Western politics has debated whether empathy is the highest value—yet many policies justified in its name have produced serious unintended consequences: safe-supply programs, lenient bail, mass migration, identity-based social policy, and gender medicine for minors. Hannah Arendt helps explain why. In *On Revolution*, she contrasted the American Revolution’s focus on institutions and limits on power with the French Revolution’s “politics of pity,” an effort to eliminate suffering through political action. Robespierre’s compassion for the masses helped justify terror. Pity isn’t compassion: it creates a hierarchy between the person who pities and the person pitied. Once you claim to represent “the oppressed,” you can stop listening to real people. Much progressive “empathy” projects idealized versions of others, erasing cultural differences and treating disagreement as ignorance or prejudice. Adam Smith warned about the “man of system,” who thinks society can be rearranged like chess pieces, ignoring human wills. Dostoevsky argued abstract love is easy; loving real people is hard. Nietzsche described a morality that flatters weakness and condemns what rises above the herd, while Orwell questioned whether some socialist intellectuals truly loved workers or simply used them to vent resentment. Rob Henderson calls these “luxury beliefs”: status-providing ideas for elites that impose costs on those below them. The moral prestige is immediate; the damage unfolds over decades. So “suicidal narcissism” may fit better than “suicidal empathy”: projection, superiority, and power disguised as compassion.

El artículo de Manon Tallien de Cabarrús explora la vida de Teresa de Cabarrús, una mujer española que desafió a Robespierre y rechazó a Napoleón, resaltando su papel como figura política influyente y afectuosa que fue injustamente relegada a la imagen de cortesana a pesar de su impacto significativo durante la Revolución Francesa. #TeresaDeCabarrús #Historia #MujeresPoderosas

🇫🇷 Superbe rassemblement à Arras pour rendre hommage à Maximilien Robespierre. Ici est la France républicaine qui se souvient à qui elle doit sa devise « Liberté, Égalité, Fraternité ». Vive la Révolution ! Vive l’Incorruptible ! https://t.co/BgiCv13Vth #Révolution #Liberté #Hommage

🇫🇷 L'hommage à l'inventeur de la devise « Liberté, Égalité, Fraternité », c'est aujourd'hui. RDV à 18H à Arras, 9 rue Maximilien Robespierre. Et vive la Révolution ! https://t.co/xbDMAEnvz2 #Révolution #Liberté #Égalité

Maximilien Robespierre, vođa jakobinaca, odgovoran je za Vladavinu terora u Francuskoj tijekom koje je od 1793. do 1794. pogubljeno oko 16.000 ljudi, uključujući i njegove vlastite suradnike, a njegov vlastiti siloviti kraj uslijedio je uhićenjem i pogubljenjem 27. srpnja 1794. godine, čime je završen period masovnih egzekucija. #FrancuskaRevolucija #Robespierre #VladavinaTerora

Članek analizira ideje Maximiliena Robespierra o pravici do življenja in njihovo relevanco za sodobni kapitalizem, pri čemer opozarja na povezavo med zaščito osnovnih človekovih pravic in ustrezno politično ekonomijo ter kritizira ustvarjanje umetnega pomanjkanja skozi špekulacije s hrano, kar ogroža eksistenco revnejših slojev družbe. #Robespierre #človekovepravice #demokracija

Mariló Montero kritizuje strategii Pedra Sáncheze, když jí srovnává s Robespierrem a tvrdí, že posílá své ministry na politickou „gilotinu“, jak ukazuje debakl PSOE v andaluských volbách, kde María Jesús Montero dosáhla historicky nejhorších výsledků strany. #PSOE #PedroSánchez #Andalucía