There have been a few races in science fiction (e.g. The Dwellers: from Iain M. Bank's The Algebraist) that have no concept of empathy. They do not care about the fate of others in any real way, the Dwellers regularly engage in ritual war amongst themselves for entertainment, hunt and enslave their own children, etc. The Prime Aliens from Peter F. Hamilton's Pandora's Star series are another example of a species with no concept of empathy for others.

Moving into the fantasy genre there are a range of other examples: Drow, Goblins, and suchlike, which also have no real concept of empathy or compassion.

So the question is whether a 'real society' could form, advance and gain technologically, without changing their nature. Could such creatures trust each other and co-operate enough to develop working infrastructure, economics, and all the other prerequisites for a technological society?