Race and IQ can be an intoxicating subject. In 2015, Noah Smith called it “a brain-eating memetic parasite.” At some point in his life, a young man discovers that there are IQ differences between major populations that look similar across the world. He notices that America has vast disparities between racial groups, with East Asians at the top, then whites, then Hispanics, then blacks. If you look at economic development across the world, setting aside a few oil-rich sheikdoms, you find East Asians are really the only ones to have equaled or surpassed Europeans. Then comes most of the rest of the world, with sub-Saharan Africa in last place among the major regions. Moreover, you might find out that there’s even been a study of international adoptees that is consistent with the idea that group differences are large and biological in origin, just as cross-adoption studies at home. Those are a lot of coincidences to explain. You may even go beyond IQ and also observe that groups that look alike have a set of uncanny behavioral similarities, and standard explanations as to why don’t make all that much sense.
If you were already a race and IQ obsessive, the Great Awokening since the early 2010s has likely solidified your view that talking about these things is important. The left blames racial disparities on past and present discrimination. If you show that biology has something to do with group outcomes, then their entire worldview must implode. One could even argue that the Great Awokening is a natural consequence of denying human biodiversity.
These are arguments I used to accept. But I now think that the pro-HBD crowd is basically wrong about fundamental questions regarding things like how people form their political opinions, what makes for successful movements, and even their own motivations. Part of this realization has come from talking to and debating people who support publicly discussing these issues. While all kinds of individuals accept group differences, in my experience it’s very easy to predict the political views and normative commitments of those who want to talk about them, which casts doubt on the idea that they are animated by a passion for scientific inquiry.
One important thing to realize is that “race and IQ” isn’t exactly the world’s most hidden knowledge. The Bell Curve might have been the most influential conservative book published in 1993. It received an overwhelmingly positive review in The New York Times. Through personal experience and gossip, I’d say that maybe half of the smartest conservative and libertarian writers at least suspect that there are genetic racial differences in IQ, or even take it for granted, and in the era of free speech on Twitter so do many of the dumber ones. And at least a few prominent liberals are also race realists. So knowing about race and IQ or group differences more generally does not make one part of some elite brotherhood. It’s therefore worth interrogating a bit what makes those who are desperate to talk about this stuff distinct.
Aesthetics and Impulses Come First, Descriptive Beliefs Second
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"People all over the world flee third world countries and flood into first world nations, abandoning their cultures and ways of life, because they want a higher standard of living."
This is not an accurate description of reality. I don't know how it is in the US, but certainly in Europe, the people from third world countries in large part do not "abandon their cultures and ways of life" when they come here. They actively preserve these (and are encouraged to do so by the prevailing narrative and policies of "multiculturalism"), in part alongside- but often also in opposition to the prevailing host culture. This is the whole point of multiculturalism. As a result there are immense problems with integration, especially with people from Muslim countries and particular third world countries like Eritrea. There are basically parallel societies, there is very little intermarrying (again, especially between Muslim immigrant populations and non-Muslim native populations) and little shared cultural life. There is a lot of direct influence on immigrant populations from the nations of origin as well (for example, Turkish mosques in my country are directly coordinated by the Turkish ministry of religion, Diyanet). In addition, tribal conflicts are imported to European streets, as was exemplified by a mass riot between two groups of Eritreans in The Hague a few days ago. And let's not forget the mass "pro-Palestine" (or pro-Hamas, if you will) demonstrations in major Western cities.
I dispute that "HBD is just white nationalism", but let's leave that to one side. When leftists attribute racial disparities to "systemic racism", and then argue for policies like affirmative action and racial reparations, how do you respond other than by invoking HBD?