Gad Saad, a prominent Canadian professor and pundit, has released a new book titled Suicidal Empathy: Dying to Be Kind, warning that the West is undermining itself by taking empathy to dangerous extremes. In an interview with the National Post, Saad explains how empathy stripped of limits and self-protection becomes a slow-acting poison that threatens the very fabric of Western societies.
The Core Argument
Saad argues that while empathy is a natural and necessary human trait, it can be weaponized by bad actors who exploit Westerners' fear of being labeled cruel or intolerant. This dynamic stifles honest discussions about immigration, crime, and ideological extremism, and turns public policy into a performance of moral virtue rather than effective governance.
"All of the insane policies that are destroying the West are rooted in suicidal empathy," Saad states. He emphasizes that the West must question whether it still has the right to prioritize its own citizens, culture, and institutions, or if the urge to appear infinitely kind has become the new moral compass.
Personal Background
Saad draws from his own life experience as a Lebanese-born Jew who fled the civil war in Beirut in 1964 and settled in Montreal. This early exposure to societal collapse under ideological and sectarian pressure informs his analysis. He spent 32 years as a marketing professor at Concordia University's John Molson School of Business and is now a scholar at the University of Mississippi's Declaration of Independence Center for the Study of American Freedom.
Beyond academia, Saad hosts the podcast The Saad Truth, has appeared 11 times on The Joe Rogan Experience, and authored the bestseller The Parasitic Mind: How Infectious Ideas Are Killing Common Sense.
Key Themes
- Weaponized Empathy: Bad actors manipulate Western compassion to push agendas that harm the very societies that practice it.
- Stifled Debate: Fear of being seen as unkind prevents necessary conversations about immigration, crime, and extremism.
- Policy as Morality Play: Laws and programs are judged by how they make politicians feel, not by their effectiveness.
- Sleepwalking Toward Collapse: The West, including Canada, is risking its cohesion by prioritizing virtue signaling over practical self-preservation.
Moving to the United States
Saad announced on The Joe Rogan Experience that he is moving to the United States, citing a lack of appreciation in Canada. "I love Canada but there comes a point where the abject antipathy that you experience from Canadian society forces you to look elsewhere to a place where you might be appreciated and allowed to flourish," he said on social media.
The interview, conducted by Dave Gordon, was edited for brevity. Saad's book Suicidal Empathy: Dying to Be Kind is now available.
