Empathy

Thom Hartmann - Empathy is at the core of modern civilization, and has defined civilized people for tens of thousands of years. As I lay out in detail in The Hidden History of American Democracy: Rediscovering Humanity’s Ancient Way of Living, concern for every member of their communities — regardless of gender, gender identity, or disability — is what led tribal people around the world to create largely egalitarian political structures throughout prehistory. Structures on which we based our Constitution.

Empathy is foundational to every major religion in the world; Jesus’ sacrifice of his life for his followers is the ultimate expression of empathy. “Love your neighbor as yourself,” “Love your enemies,” and the story of the Good Samaritan are among the highest expressions of empathy.

Empathy is the basis of unions, where workers band together to protect each other, and employers are required by law to recognize them.

It’s the basis of our public education system, where we all chip in to make sure that even the poorest and weakest among us can have a positive future.

It’s even the basis of business, where the core of good marketing is understanding what your customers need and the core of good management is having a sense of how to motivate your employees because you can imagine what they feel.

It’s also at the core of democracy, is the basis of modern law, and has been intrinsic to our constitutional system of governance since our nation’s first days.