Empathy and Elon - Is caring for others a "fundamental weakness"?

Earlier this month, on the Joe Rogan podcast, Elon Musk opined on empathy: "the fundamental weakness of Western civilization is empathy - the empathy exploit."

And, as a workplace empathy consultant, my critiques come in a handful of categories...

1). Historical
Can you really think of a great Western power that was upended because it was too empathetic?

Rather, from the displacement of indigenous peoples to the slave trade to the Crusades to the Holocaust, some of our greatest tragedies and torments stem from an appalling lack of empathy, not it's excess.

2). Contextual
Is empathy just some "western" thing? Seems a little culturally tone-deaf/short-sighted...and it doesn't align with the data.

In fact, Cognizant did a study of empathy across nations. Of the top six countries, only one was "western" (Denmark) - the others were Ecuador, Saudi Arabia, Peru, UAE & South Korea.

The Director of the study noted that cultures that were more community-oriented (read - classically non-western) displayed higher empathy. 

3). Moral/spiritual
- Moses teaches us to love our neighbors, Jesus expands that - love (and pray) for those who persecute you
- “I call him religious who understands the suffering of others” Mahatma Gandhi

4). Reality
- Empathy helps marketers make great products.
- Empathy helps people in the hospitality industry create a competitive advantage by anticipating customer needs
- Hospitals, nurses, and physicians that demonstrate empathy develop raving fans
- Empathy allows us to make nuanced foreign policy decisions (think of the Cuban Missile Crisis)
- It helps me to write a note and bring a hot dish when my neighbor has a new baby...empathy brings out the best in who we are
- Empathy makes school a nice place for my children; blessings on all the teachers that make sure that playgrounds don't descend into Lord of the Flies

5). Cold, hard business facts
- 90% of workers said that empathetic leadership led to higher job satisfaction (Ernst & Young)
- Disengagement is costly - empathy helps people lean in and want to stay (the 2023 cost of disengagement, worldwide, was $8.8 trillion of 9% or the global GDP - Gallop Research)

Empathy shouldn't be the only "leg" that governmental or company policies stand on, but it certainly deserves a seat at the table.

Not a bug - but something that can bring out our best.