[...] Empathy derives from a strong faith in the human condition. It is the ability to put oneself in another's shoes and to accept that people have the right to live as they wish, as long as they do no intentional or careless harm to others. Defending these values in the face of lurches to authoritarianism and paternalism may be very difficult in current circumstances. And we must recognize that this means a fundamental reform of 'rentier capitalism' arising from the policies and underlying ideology that have held sway since the 1980s.