INDRE SEGZDAVICIUTE European Policy and Practice towards Ethnic Minorities
AQCI No.3 Laura Laubeova
Van den Berghe, Pierre: “Does race matter?”, text 9, , in Hutchinson, John, Smith Anthony, eds. (1996) Ethnicity, Oxford- New York: Oxford University Press, pp. 57-63
1. Central quotation
“ethnicity and race are both rooted in the biology of nepotism”[1] (p. 58)
2. Argument
Van den Berghe views racism through evolutionary framework. He claims that society, even if defined by cultural markers, has a biological descent. It is a nature of human being to act nepotistic and both ethnocentrism and racism are “extended forms of biologically rooted nepotism”[2]. Nepotism is intensified due to migration and is relevant under modern conditions as well. Van den Berghe says that his “theory of the biological genesis of social race predict and explain contemporary racism better than competing theories”[3].
3. Question
Does racism really have a biological descent? Is nepotism biological? I have some doubts weather “all social organisms are biologically programmed to be nepotistic”[4]. This concept leads to a conclusion, that humans are determined to be racist. The arguments that author presents to define his theory are not convincing and it is surprising for me that such theories still exist. I do not believe that human beings are nothing more than “intelligent and opportunistic animals”[5] and that “Sociality is synonymous with discrimination”[6].
4. Experiential connection
It is true that people tend to be favorable to their groups. The behavior of a little child is a good example: a child fells falls down and usually starts crying only when he sees his mother or another close person that can comfort him. However, I do not think that it is a biological instinct. I have a friend who was adopted in the early age. She knows that her foster-parents did not give her birth but she still calls them mom and dad. She also does not want to meet her biological parents as they left her when she was an infant.
5. Textual connection
A. Richmond has a different opinion about the origins of racism. In the article “Global apartheid” he claims that “terms such as ’White’, ‘Colored’, ‘Negro’, ’Black’, ‘person of color’ or ‘visible minority’ are all social constructs, the use of which reflects changing perceptions of shifting power relations”[7]. He also emphasizes that “there is no reliable evidence that they [gene pools – I.S.] are linked to any cultural, social, or psychological characteristics”[8].
6. Implications
Van den Berghe attempt to adopt biological racism theory to contemporary society is vague and have no convincing proofs. Thinking that racism is inevitable can be even dangerous to the society. Therefore, myths and obsolete theories should be viewed from a critical perspective and society should be engrafted with alternative, i.e. social constructivism theories, which, contrary to biological theories leave the hope that humans can create a world without racism.
A
1st Dec 2005
[1] Van den Berghe, Pierre: “Does race matter?”, text 9, , in Hutchinson, John, Smith Anthony, eds. (1996) Ethnicity, Oxford- New York: Oxford University Press, 58.
[2] Ibid,58.
[3] Ibid,59.
[4] Ibid, 57.
[5] Ibid, 57.
[6] Ibid, 60.
[7] Richmond, Anthony (1994) Global Apartheid, Toronto: Oxford University Press, p.22.
[8]Ibid, 21.