Redistribution of Empathy

Eric Weinstein argues that empathy, a crucial social and moral tool, is being misused or "redistributed" in ways that distort and erode justice, rational discourse, and the ability to make real societal progress. He sees this as part of a larger cultural and ideological trend where empathy is redirected toward individuals who commit harm or who claim victimhood for ideological purposes, often at the expense of actual victims or those who are genuinely suffering. This redistribution creates a competitive atmosphere in which individuals and groups vie for moral superiority by demonstrating excessive empathy toward those who are responsible for harm or criminality, thereby overshadowing the legitimate needs and suffering of the actual victims.

Eric's core concern is not with empathy itself but with how it is redistributed, misused, and manipulated. True empathy, in his view, should be thoughtful, broad, and informed by a sense of responsibility, not a tool for social signaling or a weapon of ideological coercion.

On X

Eric Weinstein

@EricRWeinstein

European lives don’t.
Straight lives don’t.
Christian lives don’t.
Conservative lives don’t.
Israeli lives don’t.
Cis-gendered lives don’t.
Ahmadi lives don’t.
Police lives don’t.
Wealthy lives don’t.

Etc. Etc.

This isn’t empathy.
It’s redistribution of empathy.

11:04 AM · Sep 8, 2025

Eric Weinstein

@EricRWeinstein

People die because of what Twitter, Facebook and Google do when censoring truth. So we aren’t going to stop. Even if it’s futile.

@jack is a brilliant interesting soul. One of these days he’s going to wake up like @ggreenwald, @mattyglesias and others who realized their errors.

That’s not a dig at @jack, @ggreenwald or @mattyglesias. There seems to be some dreamworld where you think “Abolish the police isn’t really a thing.” or “They don’t really mean no justice no peace.” In the dream You think TheLancet is objective. That Peer Review is pro-science.

In the dreamworld you think revolutionary thinking is a pro empathy movement rather than a redistribution of empathy away from others. You imagine excesses are confined to college campuses and that people grow out of it when they get mortgages. That progressives want progress.

Inside the dream, anti-racism is anti racist rather than a form of racism. Antifa is simply against fascism. Black Lives Matter is about nothing more than Black Lives Mattering.

Sooner or later everyone wakes up. I don’t give up on any friends. And we need our top folks to wake.

10:20 AM · Jun 14, 2021

Eric Weinstein

@EricRWeinstein

I don’t like to block people I disagree with. But here are common reasons i block:

A) Personal attacks.
B) Deliberate misportrayal
C) Misuse of ridicule
D) Trying to get to @joerogan.
E) I can’t afford to get the person therapy.
F) Desire to spar from an anonymous account.
G) The account is trying to drag me towards reputational quicksand.
H) The account is focused on “pick a side” level analysis
I) Repeated appeals to authorities.
J) Use of invariant phrases (e.g. “I’m going to invite you to sit in your own discomfort”) associated with cults.
K) Someone pretends to be pro empathy when they are trying to redistribute empathy away from some people in pain.
L) I could program an Eliza program to deliver the level of challenge.
M) The account makes arguments where Refutation requires divulging personal details.
Etc...

The basic point is this: if you’re absolutely determined to get blocked there are many ways to do it, but It won’t happen lightly or by accident. And if that means that you have triumphed in your own mind, I feel sad for who you could have become.

But I’ll now gift you your win.

12:00 PM · Jan 30, 2021

Related Pages

• Degraded State

Related Pages

• Intersectional Industrial Complex
• Intersectional Shakedown