Gad Saad: Suicidal Empathy - Dying to Be Kind

What happens when a society elevates victimhood to a virtue and decides that punishment is cruel? You get the disease Dr. Gad Saad calls suicidal empathy. And the West may be terminally infected. Saad says “maladaptively irrational altruism” has gripped our culture. He calls it a mind parasite that has hijacked the empathy module of our progressive elite, leading to a catastrophic miscalibration of moral priorities. The results are everywhere: from coddling violent criminals to protecting rapists to branding self-defense as toxic behavior. He says we are witnessing a civilization in rapid decline, with bad policies instituted because we prioritize the feelings of ostensibly marginalized groups over the truth, criminals over victims, and squatters over homeowners. Saad says this is not only not humane—it’s an active dismantling of the pillars that keep us safe and free. In his new book, Suicidal Empathy, Saad makes the case that we are experiencing a crisis of empathy that creates a horrifying system of inverse morality where the strong and successful are demonized, the destructive are celebrated, illegal migrants are prioritized over our own legal citizens and veterans, drug addicts are prioritized over children’s safety in parks, and more. Is common sense dying in a deluge of misguided compassion? June 10, 2026 Speakers Gad Saad Ph.D., Evolutionary Behavioral Scientist; Scholar at the Declaration of Independence Center for the Study of American Freedom, University of Mississippi; Host, "The Saad Truth" Podcast; Author, Suicidal Empathy: Dying to Be Kind In Conversation With Michael Shellenberger Founder and President of Environmental Progress and CBR Chair of Politics, Censorship, and Free Speech at the University of Austin This program is supported by the Ken & Jaclyn Broad Family Fund. In partnership with the Manhattan Institute. Photo by Yvens B.; courtesy of the speaker. Commonwealth Club World Affairs is a public forum. Any views expressed in our programs are those of the speakers and not of Commonwealth Club World Affairs.