There are two kinds of empathy. Affective empathy is the ability to literally feel another's feelings. Autistics generally lack this kind. Cognitive empathy is the ability to consciously recognize another's feelings. These are insufficient if one lacks sympathy: caring for another's feelings. Demagogues use their empathy to read potential supporters, but, lacking sympathy, they only care about themselves.

I think you can understand why I think empathy is overrated. Empathy without sympathy is a destructive combination. This is what we're seeing in places like Venezuela and the United States.

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