In defense of empathy

I have been a poor man most of my life and lived by the adage: Always trust in the kindness of strangers. It has stood me in good stead and I have always tried to reciprocate, most often in a practical way, being finance-restrained. Then a few years ago I got educated, got a reasonably well-paid job and decided to start donating to good causes. Initially I had planned to do 10-20% of my take-home pay, but I discovered an inner friction, a reluctance, that I could not quite understand. I had the excess money and I have never had an issue with altruism, what was the issue? And more to the point, what did it say about me?

The issue, I think, is that giving up a capital, under capitalism, means giving up agency and that feels wrong. No matter my own shortcomings, it did lead me to this realization: Having excess agency, while others starve, leads to sociopathy. It is an old idea of mine, but until now, only an intellectual one. Suddenly I had to face the fact that I too am human, dammit!

Most people who seek & hold power are sociopaths. They might not have started that way, but they will end up in the same place. The reason is simple. If you have outsize agency, you will, at some point, have to ask yourself: Why do I have excess, while others starve? Now, a few might come to the true realization that it is simply a matter of luck & being in the right place, at the right time. Of course, skills & personality plays a role as well, but not nearly as much as luck. You can be as brilliant as you like, it does not matter if you are born in the slums, with a disability, in the wrong body etc. Meritocracy could work, in a world where everyone had equal access to education, healthcare, familial & communal support… If you believe that such a world is possible, I salute you, you are more of a Utopian than me.

Actually the one thing, more than anything else, that guarantees success under capitalism, is ruthlessness. As is clear, when we look at the silicon valley & other “entrepreneurs” of the new economy. The ability to lie, cheat, cut corners, misuse is the best indicator of success. Sociopathy, in other words.

So what is an empathetic billionaire to think? How can they come to terms with this? Well, a few might see the truth and decide to give away all their money. I have only ever read of one billionaire that did this and good on him, but almost always they come up with some kind of excuse: I worked harder. No one ever helped me. I deserve this, because x,y,z. And so they lose empathy, and so they fall deeper & deeper in the hole. The dichotomy breaks their brains & their humanity is lost.

This is true for all people, not just billionaires. In order to justify our good fortune, we have to deny the humanity of others. Which is why, capitalism will always lead to sociopathy.

There is another wrinkle to this. There is no ethical consumption under capitalism, there will always be someone that suffers, so you can have your creature comforts. Our reluctance to deal with this fact, is another route to sociopathy, another factor of sociopathic thinking.