BANGKOK — "The fundamental weakness is empathy," Musk recently told radio podcast host Joe Rogan. "There is a bug, which is the empathy response."

As Musk has established himself as, at least, the second most powerful person in an administration seeking a wholesale remaking of institutions, rules and norms, what he said matters, because it encapsulates a political plan. What the Project 2025 report set out in over 900 turgid pages, Musk's remark captures in a simple pithy mantra for the social media age.

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