Every Day is Judgment Day

When the Hebrew prophets, Jesus and Mohammed spoke about judgment, their idea was of discrimination, of decision, in the moment. “You shall know the truth and the truth will make you free.” (John 8:32) In Jesus’s Aramaic the word for “truth” (shrara) means a light or clarity coming from the heart that leads one in the right direction for the moment. Through Aramaic we can hear this saying tell us: “If you find a light emanating from the heart, it will lead you in the right direction. You’ll know what to hold on to and what to release.” -Neil Douglas-Klotz

Empathy, the “fuel for compassion,” is a fundamental trait not only inherent to humans but universally observed across the mammalian class. It underpins social cohesion and cooperative survival strategies. This capacity for emotional resonance has been a cornerstone of evolutionary success, facilitating mutual support and collective well-being among species. However, as the proportion of individuals exhibiting psychopathic tendencies rises within the upper echelons of business and government, this natural predisposition toward empathy is systematically undermined, resulting in heightened suffering for the majority. Historical precedents such as Adolf Hitler’s regime and contemporary examples like Donald Trump’s administration—bolstered by influential figures such as Elon Musk, who admires Hitler’s decisive authoritarianism; Curtis Yarvin, an accelerationist philosopher; and Peter Thiel, a billionaire who elevated J.D. Vance from obscurity to the vice-presidency—serve as stark illustrations of this phenomenon. These cases demonstrate how leadership devoid of empathy precipitates widespread societal harm, potentially driving civilization toward a fragmented landscape of technocratic oligarchies juxtaposed against desolate, anarchic wastelands reminiscent of dystopian fiction. In response, the Buddhist principle of compassionate wisdom offers a transformative framework for reorienting both public and private sectors toward ethical governance and sustainable practices, counteracting the destructive tendencies of psychopathic dominance.

The historical foundation for this argument emerges from the reflections of Captain Gustave Gilbert, a U.S. Army psychologist tasked with observing the Nazi defendants during the Nuremberg trials following World War II. In his efforts to discern the essence of evil, Gilbert concluded that its defining characteristic was a profound lack of empathy. He noted, “In my work with the defendants [at Nuremberg], I was searching for the nature of evil and I now think I have come close to defining it. A lack of empathy. It’s the one characteristic that connects all the defendants, a genuine incapacity to feel with their fellow men.” This observation underscores a critical insight: the individuals orchestrating one of history’s most devastating regimes shared an inability to connect emotionally with others, a trait that enabled their ruthless policies and indifference to human suffering. Hitler’s administration, with its systematic dehumanization and genocidal campaigns, exemplifies how such a deficiency at the apex of power translates into catastrophic consequences for society. Parallels can be drawn to modern leadership, such as Trump’s tenure, where policies and rhetoric often prioritize personal gain and divisive posturing over collective welfare, reflecting a similar empathetic void that amplifies public distress.

Clinical research further elucidates the mechanisms behind this empathetic erosion, highlighting the interplay between genetic predispositions and environmental influences, particularly childhood experiences, in shaping individuals along a spectrum from compassion to psychopathy. In the perennial debate over human nature, contemporary studies provide nuanced insights. Research indicates that genetic factors may predispose individuals to callous, unemotional traits associated with psychopathy, but these tendencies are not immutable. Neuroplasticity, the brain’s capacity to reorganize neural pathways, and reward-based learning systems play pivotal roles in modulating behavior. Interventions such as robust parental nurturing, compassion-focused training, and mindfulness practices have demonstrated efficacy in shifting individuals toward the selfless end of the behavioral spectrum. Evidence from diverse cohorts—including incarcerated juveniles, adopted children, twin studies, and practitioners of meditation—substantiates the potential for cognitive and therapeutic strategies to foster empathy and cooperative tendencies. However, when such interventions are absent, individuals with psychopathic inclinations may ascend to leadership roles, where their traits are disproportionately represented. Studies estimate that approximately 12% of senior corporate leaders exhibit psychopathic characteristics, a prevalence up to twelve times higher than in the general population. These leaders often mask their egocentricity, recklessness, and manipulativeness with charisma and creativity—qualities culturally valorized as hallmarks of effective leadership—yet their lack of empathy and moral grounding engenders organizational dysfunction, employee exploitation, customer neglect, and broader societal harm. Gender differences further complicate this landscape: male psychopaths tend to embody dominant, aggressive archetypes, while female psychopaths may present as unconventional and norm-defiant, potentially rendering their traits less detectable and exacerbating their underrepresentation in statistical analyses.

The philosophical roots of this psychopathic ascendancy can be traced to Ayn Rand, whose traumatic childhood in revolutionary Russia profoundly shaped her worldview and subsequent influence on Western political and economic thought. Witnessing the Bolshevik seizure of her father’s pharmacy at age twelve, Rand internalized a visceral rejection of collectivism, which crystallized into her Objectivist philosophy glorifying unbridled selfishness. This ideology found its muse in William Edward Hickman, a notorious 1920s criminal whose remorseless murder and dismemberment of a young girl captivated Rand as an emblem of individualistic defiance. In her journals, she lauded Hickman’s assertion that “what is good for me is right,” viewing him as an archetype of the “ideal man”—a figure like Howard Roark in The Fountainhead, who dynamites a housing project to assert his supremacy. This ethos resonated with power-hungry politicians, business magnates, and religious leaders who propelled Ronald Reagan into the presidency in 1980, embedding Rand’s principles into the Republican Party’s framework. Figures such as Paul Ryan, Donald Trump, Elon Musk, and Peter Thiel have since embraced her vision, championing a laissez-faire capitalism that prioritizes the “producers” over the “looters”—Rand’s derogatory term for the working class reliant on social support. This philosophy, while enriching a narrow elite, has fueled policies that dismantle social safety nets, exacerbate inequality, and normalize apathy toward collective suffering, as evidenced by the mishandling of crises like the COVID-19 pandemic, rising homelessness, and the erosion of public institutions.

When coupled with the accelerationist ideologies outlined in the post Accelerationism and the Exponential Function (https://outofunitedstates.com/p/accelerationism-and-the-exponential-function), Rand’s legacy portends a dire future. Accelerationism, as espoused by Musk and Yarvin, advocates for the unchecked advancement of technology and markets, promising exponential progress but delivering concentrated power and wealth. This trajectory risks a societal bifurcation: technologically advanced enclaves governed by billionaire oligarchs—such as Musk and Thiel—surrounded by impoverished, lawless expanses akin to Mad Max wastelands. Hitler’s centralized tyranny and Trump’s chaotic governance converge in this vision, amplified by a Randian disdain for communal welfare and an accelerationist fetish for speed over stability. The result is a devolution into feudalistic tech-broligarchies, where the majority languishes under the indifference of psychopathic rulers, and empathy becomes an obsolete relic.

The antidote for such a future is compassionate wisdom, as articulated in the post Vision for a Sustainable Future (https://outofunitedstates.com/p/vision-for-a-sustainable-future). This principle integrates profound understanding with active concern for others, offering a leadership paradigm that prioritizes ethical responsibility over self-interest. Clinical evidence supports its viability: mindfulness and compassion training enhance neuroplasticity, reinforcing empathetic neural circuits and fostering prosocial behavior. In the public sector, this translates to governance that balances individual freedoms with collective well-being—policies promoting equitable resource distribution, universal healthcare, and environmental stewardship rather than short-term profiteering. In the private sector, it envisions executives who view employees and consumers as stakeholders in a shared ecosystem, not mere tools for profit. The sustainable future envisioned here—powered by renewable energy, equitable economic systems, and community resilience—directly counters the Randian free-for-all and accelerationist recklessness. By institutionalizing compassionate wisdom, both sectors could harness humanity’s natural empathetic capacity to mitigate the suffering inflicted by psychopathic leadership, averting a descent into dystopia. This is not a utopian fantasy but a pragmatic response, grounded in historical lessons, scientific insights, and a rejection of the destructive ideologies that threaten societal collapse.