Elon Musk wants to save Western civilization from empathy

A version of this story appeared in CNN’s What Matters newsletter. But there’s some insight into what’s driving Musk — namely, an effort to combat what he referred to as “civilizational suicidal empathy.” During a three-hour interview with the podcaster Joe Rogan released February 28, Musk talked about his deeply held belief in the conspiracy theory that Democrats are working to import as many undocumented immigrants as possible so that they can take over the US government forever. “We’ve got civilizational suicidal empathy going on,” Musk said, borrowing the term from Gad Saad, a Canadian scholar who is also a frequent Rogan host. “There it’s they’re exploiting a bug in Western civilization, which is the empathy response.” Empathy, he said, has been “weaponized.” It’s an important thing to remember as Musk turns his crusade toward the US government. While President Donald Trump has said cuts will not touch safety net programs such as Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid, except to root out fraud, Musk made clear during the interview that he believes that the concept of Social Security is a “Ponzi scheme.” Video Ad Feedback Walter Isaacson on Elon Musk's life, ego and 'lack of empathy' 17:01 - Source: CNN Walter Isaacson on Elon Musk's life, ego and 'lack of empathy' 17:01 Musk’s lack of empathy is a theme in the recent biography for which the writer Walter Isaacson was given access to the billionaire throughout his takeover of Twitter.