Musk and Ackman Back Gad Saad's Suicidal Empathy

When two of the most influential figures in global finance and technology publicly champion the same book within weeks of its release, the publishing world takes notice. That is exactly what has happened with Gad Saad's Suicidal Empathy: Dying to Be Kind, which has vaulted into cultural conversation after high-profile endorsements from Elon Musk and hedge fund billionaire Bill Ackman. As reported by Time on May 19, 2026↗, the book is being framed in influential conservative circles as a new philosophical framework for understanding what its proponents call the self-destructive consequences of unchecked compassion — and the debate it has ignited is spreading well beyond those circles.

Gad Saad is no stranger to controversy. A professor of marketing at Concordia University and a longtime popularizer of evolutionary psychology, Saad built his public profile through his podcast and his earlier book The Parasitic Mind, which argued that ideological thinking suppresses rational discourse. Suicidal Empathy: Dying to Be Kind extends that project, targeting what Saad describes as a pathological form of compassion — one that, in his telling, leads individuals and societies to enable harmful behaviors in the name of kindness. The book has received further attention from a National Post interview published three weeks ago and a pointed Jacobin review last week, confirming that Saad's arguments are landing across the political spectrum, though not always favorably.

The concept of suicidal empathy sits at an intersection of evolutionary psychology, political commentary, and cultural critique. Saad argues that empathy, when applied without discrimination or rational constraint, becomes a mechanism through which bad actors exploit good intentions — whether in geopolitics, immigration policy, or interpersonal relationships. For readers already engaged with thinkers like Jonathan Haidt or Jordan Peterson, the framework will feel familiar. For newcomers, it offers a vocabulary that is, at minimum, immediately provocative and, at maximum, a genuine analytical tool for thinking about how compassion can be weaponized.

At LuvemBooks, we rate Suicidal Empathy: Dying to Be Kind 3.5 out of 5 stars. The book's clearest strength is its accessibility and argumentative momentum — Saad writes with the confidence of a practiced communicator, and his evolutionary psychology framework is explained with genuine clarity, making dense theoretical terrain easy to navigate. The central "suicidal empathy" concept offers what may be the book's most durable contribution: a conceptual vocabulary that readers can apply broadly, even if they push back on Saad's specific conclusions. Crucially, the book avoids the bloated repetition that plagues much of the genre, moving efficiently through its arguments. You can read our full breakdown in our complete review of Suicidal Empathy.

That said, the book's weaknesses are real and worth naming. Saad's rhetorical confidence frequently outpaces his engagement with counterarguments — critics will find little here that genuinely wrestles with opposing perspectives, and the evolutionary psychology framework is stretched in places beyond what the evidence can comfortably bear. The result is a book that is likely to persuade readers who are already sympathetic to Saad's worldview more than it will convert skeptics. Readers drawn to works like Jared Diamond's Guns, Germs, and Steel — which applies grand theoretical frameworks to human behavior with considerably more methodological care — may find Suicidal Empathy frustratingly one-sided. It is a stimulating read, but not always a rigorous one.

The endorsements from Musk and Ackman matter less as literary criticism than as cultural signals. Both men command enormous audiences and have demonstrated a consistent interest in books that challenge progressive orthodoxies — meaning Suicidal Empathy: Dying to Be Kind is likely to reach readers who would never have encountered Saad's work through academic or literary channels. That is a double-edged development. On one hand, it expands the conversation around evolutionary psychology and its political applications. On the other, it risks reducing a complex — if imperfect — argument to a culture war rallying point, stripped of its analytical nuance.

For readers genuinely interested in how empathy functions in political and social life, Suicidal Empathy raises questions worth sitting with, even if you ultimately reject Saad's answers. Those looking for a more adversarial engagement with how narratives shape group identity and moral reasoning might find value in pairing it with a work like The Autobiography of Malcolm X, which offers a powerful counter-testimony about the political stakes of compassion, solidarity, and their limits. Whatever one's conclusions, this is a book that is clearly having a moment — and understanding why that moment is happening tells us something important about where public intellectual culture is headed.

Want the full verdict? Read our complete review: Is Suicidal Empathy Worth It? — where we break down exactly who this book is perfect for, who should skip it, and how to get the most value from Saad's provocative framework.