Who Needs Empathy? Why Some White Nationalists Condemn Western Civilization
This post is part of a series on Elon Musk’s interest in Greco-Roman antiquity. Read part one: “When the Richest Man in the World Loves Classics.”
A few weeks ago, Elon Musk took a break from dismantling social security, violating the privacy of millions of Americans, firing veterans, and increasing, not decreasing, the cost of government. He spent his day off giving an interview to the popular podcaster Joe Rogan. Rogan has promoted COVID vaccine denialism and transphobia, and more than anyone else in media, helped Musk’s boss get elected president. Or is Musk the boss? In any case, during their interview Musk remarked that “the fundamental weakness of Western Civilization is empathy.” It’s not a terribly surprising thing to hear from the man who has shown contempt for people suffering from cancer or HIV/AIDS and who described the poor as “the parasite class.” But at the same time, it might be surprising to hear Musk criticize Western Civilization, given the fact that ancient Greece and Rome are often considered its “foundation.” Why would a man who plainly admires the ancient world so much have anything bad to say about Western Civ?
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