The Racial Time Bomb

In 1994 psychologist Richard J. Herrnstein and political scientist Charles Murray published a book that started a war. The book was The Bell Curve, and the war was one of ideas, with nature on one side and nurture on the other. But that war is far from over - in fact, it's only just begun, and the front lines are about to expand dramatically.

At least, they are according to Jonathan Haidt in an editorial over at the ever-thought-provoking Edge.org.

I believe that the "Bell Curve" wars of the 1990s, over race differences in intelligence, will seem genteel and short-lived compared to the coming arguments over ethnic differences in moralized traits.

Haidt is speaking of an issue that I consider to be a ticking time bomb of Homerian proportions that is bound to detonate some time in the next decade or so. While The Bell Curve dealt specifically with differences in intelligence between various racial groups, the coming controversy is about far more than just smarts.

As Haidt explains:

Skin color has no moral significance, but traits that led to Darwinian success in one of the many new niches and occupations of Holocene life — traits such as collectivism, clannishness, aggressiveness, docility, or the ability to delay gratification — are often seen as virtues or vices.

And if not only individuals differ in these capacites, but entire racial groups do, then we're not only talking about intelligence or abilities, we're talking about morality.

Virtues are acquired slowly, by practice within a cultural context, but the discovery that there might be ethnically-linked genetic variations in the ease with which people can acquire specific virtues is — and this is my prediction — going to be a "game changing" scientific event.

I agree. Not that we will find evidence that there are ethnicaly-linked genetic variations in moral competence, but that if we do, then there'll be trouble. Should evidence for such variations be discovered tomorrow, we as a society will be wholly unequipped to deal with the ramifications.

That's also not to say that there will necessarily be negative ramifications to such a finding. But that without a clear philosophical understanding of the issue and its implications - and reasons for why there aren't negative ramifications - then there'll be many who will effortlessly slip into a potentially devastating form of genetically-justified racism against ethnic groups they perceive to be 'less morally capable'. It could also fuel existing racial tensions and advance the cause of racist groups around the world (probably irrespective of the individual findings themselves).

Human genome pioneer, Craig Venter, posted a similar cautionary editorial on Edge.org a couple of years ago, although it didn't get a whole bunch of attention back then. Venter was concerned that our burgenoning knowledge of genetics would reveal a plethora of biologically-influenced inequalities:

It will inevitably be revealed that there are strong genetic components associated with most aspects of what we attribute to human existence including personality subtypes, language capabilities, mechanical abilities, intelligence, sexual activities and preferences, intuitive thinking, quality of memory, will power, temperament, athletic abilities, etc.

We can now add morality to that list.

I think that as a matter of utmost priority, scientists, philosophers, politicians and community groups need to engage with the issue of the biological and genetic basis of behaviour - and morality - and formulate some considered responses to the various possible discoveries yet to be made. We need to arm ourselves to respond to this issue in a measured and rational way rather than let it fall to those with their own extreme agendas to set the tone of the debate, by which point it may be too late.

And we may not have years to figure all this out. We may have a matter of only months. So we'd better get to it.