During the COVID-19 pandemic and amid recent debates surrounding migration – or simply as part of election campaigns – pity and compassion have increasingly been permeating the political discourse. Does this trend lead to more humanity, or do the emotions of pity and compassion threaten our democracies? Political scientist Anne-Kathrin Weber suggests that polarising answers can be found in the political theories of two extraordinary thinkers: Hannah Arendt and Martha Nussbaum.