Originally posted by ash777
View Post
It's called 'nepotism'.
---Culture of Critique, Preface to the First Paperback Edition
Prof. Kevin MacDonald, California State University Long Beach
**snip**
Although there is much evidence that Europeans presented a spirited defense
of their cultural and ethnic hegemony in the early- to mid-20th century, their rapid
decline raises the question: What cultural or ethnic characteristics of Europeans
made them susceptible to the intellectual and political movements described in
CofC? The discussion in CofC focused mainly on a proposed nexus of
individualism, relative lack of ethnocentrism, and concomitant moral
universalism—all features that are entirely foreign to Judaism. In several places
in all three of my books on Judaism I develop the view that Europeans are
relatively less ethnocentric than other peoples and relatively more prone to
individualism as opposed to the ethnocentric collectivist social structures
historically far more characteristic of other human groups, including—relevant to
this discussion—Jewish groups. I update and extend these ideas here.
The basic idea is that European groups are highly vulnerable to invasion by
strongly collectivist, ethnocentric groups because individualists have less
powerful defenses against such groups. The competitive advantage of cohesive,
cooperating groups is obvious and is a theme that recurs throughout my trilogy
on Judaism. This scenario implies that European peoples are more prone to
individualism. Individualist cultures show little emotional attachment to
ingroups. Personal goals are paramount, and socialization emphasizes the
importance of self-reliance, independence, individual responsibility, and “finding
yourself” (Triandis 1991, 82). Individualists have more positive attitudes toward
strangers and outgroup members and are more likely to behave in a pro-social,
altruistic manner to strangers. People in individualist cultures are less aware of
ingroup/outgroup boundaries and thus do not have highly negative attitudes
toward outgroup members. They often disagree with ingroup policy, show little
emotional commitment or loyalty to ingroups, and do not have a sense of
common fate with other ingroup members. Opposition to outgroups occurs in
individualist societies, but the opposition is more “rational” in the sense that
there is less of a tendency to suppose that all of the outgroup members are
culpable. Individualists form mild attachments to many groups, while
collectivists have an intense attachment and identification to a few ingroups
(Triandis 1990, 61). Individualists are therefore relatively ill-prepared for
between-group competition so characteristic of the history of Judaism.
Historically Judaism has been far more ethnocentric and collectivist than
typical Western societies. I make this argument in Separation and Its Discontents
(MacDonald 1998a; Ch. 1) and especially in A People That Shall Dwell Alone
(MacDonald 1994; Ch. 8), where I suggest that over the course of their recent
evolution, Europeans were less subjected to between-group natural selection than
Jews and other Middle Eastern populations. This was originally proposed by
Fritz Lenz (1931, 657) who suggested that, because of the harsh environment of
the Ice Age, the Nordic peoples evolved in small groups and have a tendency
toward social isolation rather than cohesive groups. This perspective would not
imply that Northern Europeans lack collectivist mechanisms for group
competition, but only that these mechanisms are relatively less elaborated and/or
require a higher level of group conflict to trigger their expression.
This perspective is consistent with ecological theory. Under ecologically
adverse circumstances, adaptations are directed more at coping with the adverse
physical environment than at competing with other groups (Southwood 1977,
1981), and in such an environment, there would be less pressure for selection for
extended kinship networks and highly collectivist groups. Evolutionary
conceptualizations of ethnocentrism emphasize the utility of ethnocentrism in
group competition. Ethnocentrism would thus be of no importance at all in
combating the physical environment, and such an environment would not support
large groups.
European groups are part of what Burton et al. (1996) term the North Eurasian
and Circumpolar culture area.9 This culture area derives from hunter-gatherers
adapted to cold, ecologically adverse climates. In such climates there is pressure
for male provisioning of the family and a tendency toward monogamy because
the ecology did not support either polygyny or large groups for an evolutionarily
significant period. These cultures are characterized by bilateral kinship
relationships which recognize both the male and female lines, suggesting a more
equal contribution for each sex as would be expected under conditions of
monogamy. There is also less emphasis on extended kinship relationships and
marriage tends to be exogamous (i.e., outside the kinship group). As discussed
below, all of these characteristics are opposite those found among Jews.
**snip**
"Jews are at the extreme of this Middle Eastern tendency toward hypercollectivism
and hyper-ethnocentrism—a phenomenon that goes a long way
toward explaining the chronic hostilities in the area. I give many examples of
Jewish hyper-ethnocentrism in my trilogy and have suggested in several places
that Jewish hyper-ethnocentrism is biologically based (MacDonald 1994, Ch. 8;
1998a, Ch. 1). It was noted above that individualist European cultures tend to be
more open to strangers than collectivist cultures such as Judaism. In this regard,
it is interesting that developmental psychologists have found unusually intense
fear reactions among Israeli infants in response to strangers, while the opposite
pattern is found for infants from North Germany.14 The Israeli infants were much
more likely to become “inconsolably upset” in reaction to strangers, whereas the
North German infants had relatively minor reactions to strangers. The Israeli
babies therefore tended to have an unusual degree of stranger anxiety, while the
North German babies were the opposite—findings that fit with the hypothesis
that Europeans and Jews are on opposite ends of scales of xenophobia and
ethnocentrism."
**snip**
---Culture of Critique, Preface to the First Paperback Edition
Prof. Kevin MacDonald, California State University Long Beach
Although there is much evidence that Europeans presented a spirited defense
of their cultural and ethnic hegemony in the early- to mid-20th century, their rapid
decline raises the question: What cultural or ethnic characteristics of Europeans
made them susceptible to the intellectual and political movements described in
CofC? The discussion in CofC focused mainly on a proposed nexus of
individualism, relative lack of ethnocentrism, and concomitant moral
universalism—all features that are entirely foreign to Judaism. In several places
in all three of my books on Judaism I develop the view that Europeans are
relatively less ethnocentric than other peoples and relatively more prone to
individualism as opposed to the ethnocentric collectivist social structures
historically far more characteristic of other human groups, including—relevant to
this discussion—Jewish groups. I update and extend these ideas here.
The basic idea is that European groups are highly vulnerable to invasion by
strongly collectivist, ethnocentric groups because individualists have less
powerful defenses against such groups. The competitive advantage of cohesive,
cooperating groups is obvious and is a theme that recurs throughout my trilogy
on Judaism. This scenario implies that European peoples are more prone to
individualism. Individualist cultures show little emotional attachment to
ingroups. Personal goals are paramount, and socialization emphasizes the
importance of self-reliance, independence, individual responsibility, and “finding
yourself” (Triandis 1991, 82). Individualists have more positive attitudes toward
strangers and outgroup members and are more likely to behave in a pro-social,
altruistic manner to strangers. People in individualist cultures are less aware of
ingroup/outgroup boundaries and thus do not have highly negative attitudes
toward outgroup members. They often disagree with ingroup policy, show little
emotional commitment or loyalty to ingroups, and do not have a sense of
common fate with other ingroup members. Opposition to outgroups occurs in
individualist societies, but the opposition is more “rational” in the sense that
there is less of a tendency to suppose that all of the outgroup members are
culpable. Individualists form mild attachments to many groups, while
collectivists have an intense attachment and identification to a few ingroups
(Triandis 1990, 61). Individualists are therefore relatively ill-prepared for
between-group competition so characteristic of the history of Judaism.
Historically Judaism has been far more ethnocentric and collectivist than
typical Western societies. I make this argument in Separation and Its Discontents
(MacDonald 1998a; Ch. 1) and especially in A People That Shall Dwell Alone
(MacDonald 1994; Ch. 8), where I suggest that over the course of their recent
evolution, Europeans were less subjected to between-group natural selection than
Jews and other Middle Eastern populations. This was originally proposed by
Fritz Lenz (1931, 657) who suggested that, because of the harsh environment of
the Ice Age, the Nordic peoples evolved in small groups and have a tendency
toward social isolation rather than cohesive groups. This perspective would not
imply that Northern Europeans lack collectivist mechanisms for group
competition, but only that these mechanisms are relatively less elaborated and/or
require a higher level of group conflict to trigger their expression.
This perspective is consistent with ecological theory. Under ecologically
adverse circumstances, adaptations are directed more at coping with the adverse
physical environment than at competing with other groups (Southwood 1977,
1981), and in such an environment, there would be less pressure for selection for
extended kinship networks and highly collectivist groups. Evolutionary
conceptualizations of ethnocentrism emphasize the utility of ethnocentrism in
group competition. Ethnocentrism would thus be of no importance at all in
combating the physical environment, and such an environment would not support
large groups.
European groups are part of what Burton et al. (1996) term the North Eurasian
and Circumpolar culture area.9 This culture area derives from hunter-gatherers
adapted to cold, ecologically adverse climates. In such climates there is pressure
for male provisioning of the family and a tendency toward monogamy because
the ecology did not support either polygyny or large groups for an evolutionarily
significant period. These cultures are characterized by bilateral kinship
relationships which recognize both the male and female lines, suggesting a more
equal contribution for each sex as would be expected under conditions of
monogamy. There is also less emphasis on extended kinship relationships and
marriage tends to be exogamous (i.e., outside the kinship group). As discussed
below, all of these characteristics are opposite those found among Jews.
and hyper-ethnocentrism—a phenomenon that goes a long way
toward explaining the chronic hostilities in the area. I give many examples of
Jewish hyper-ethnocentrism in my trilogy and have suggested in several places
that Jewish hyper-ethnocentrism is biologically based (MacDonald 1994, Ch. 8;
1998a, Ch. 1). It was noted above that individualist European cultures tend to be
more open to strangers than collectivist cultures such as Judaism. In this regard,
it is interesting that developmental psychologists have found unusually intense
fear reactions among Israeli infants in response to strangers, while the opposite
pattern is found for infants from North Germany.14 The Israeli infants were much
more likely to become “inconsolably upset” in reaction to strangers, whereas the
North German infants had relatively minor reactions to strangers. The Israeli
babies therefore tended to have an unusual degree of stranger anxiety, while the
North German babies were the opposite—findings that fit with the hypothesis
that Europeans and Jews are on opposite ends of scales of xenophobia and
ethnocentrism."
**snip**
But surely the answer to the many questions raised is to start a new debate about the need for all such cultures, Jews being a good example, to recognise that they end up in the same position as any group who exclude new "Blood"; they eventually degrade their own sub-group through a lack of genetic diversity?
Ergo; being the dominant group today; does not prevent them from future collapse from a lack of diversity. They may well have built into their culture the mechanism for their own long term demise.
Leave a comment: