Is Culture of Empathy Perpetuating Inequality?

Pedwell, Carolyn (2017) Is Culture of Empathy Perpetuating Inequality? Zocalo Public Square, Los Angeles.

Abstract

We desperately need more empathy. At least, that’s what we are told—in political rhetoric, in bestselling popular science books, in international development discourse, in feminist and anti-racist activism. Among current political antagonisms, especially the rise of Trumpism, many are worried about the deleterious effects of “empathy erosion.”