Christians like to say that Christianity has helped fight racism. It was religion that gave rise to one of the forms of xenophobia - racism.

Racism is a set of ideological and theoretical worldview concepts when there are postulates about the inequality of human nationalities and races. A broader understanding of what racism is, a definition of its main points, is given in any biological ideologies about human distribution. Those. These are groups divided conditionally into races, differing in phenotypic, characterological and intellectual-moral traits. It is precisely this difference that invites further hostility and attempts to present one race as a birthright superior to another or to endow it with greater privileges. At the modern stage of development, there is no longer any talk of superiority, but the concept of the incompatibility of the existence of different races due to their internal and cultural differences is used.

Examples of racism are most frequent in historical moments, since now the trend is towards a greater level of tolerance, and individual rights and freedoms are increasingly defended, both at the legal level and in biological evidence of the equality of peoples.

Causes

The emergence of the concept itself is closely connected with historical and geographical changes, in particular with the period when Europeans maximally developed and conquered new lands. In order to colonize the lands with impunity at the moral and state level, their indigenous inhabitants were equated more with animals or semi-humans, which gave Europeans the relative right to rule and dispose of both the lives of people and their land. Then the theory of Nordism appears, designed to extol only one race, and citing various facts that this civilization is older and wiser. In their ideas to advertise their own origins, scientists even cited facts about the presence of any progress (scientific or cultural, intellectual or moral) even at the stage of development of ancient Greek and Roman civilizations.

Racism reached its broadest and most horrific interpretation in relation to the Jews, as well as in the exaltation of the Aryan race. If in other concepts some nationalities were simply placed as superiors or recognized as more developed, then the latest movement was characterized by the extermination of all other peoples or brutal exploitation, even to the point of death.

Another reason for the development of racism was economic development, not just historical and geographical changes. The idea that someone is less worthy of any benefits divides people into classes - this is a unique opportunity to manage and stabilize the situation of strengthening the wealth of specific individuals. Then there is a vicious circle effect, since the disparaged races and nationalities initially had worse living conditions, which means worse health, they could not get an education and, as a result, did not contribute to science. Then similar facts (a smaller percentage of scientists, centenarians, artists, etc.) were presented as evidence of the inferiority of a given people. Of course, the position taken out of context was that society itself initially placed them in unequal conditions, where it was not possible to develop such abilities.

Scandals and accusations of racism

Christopher Brand

At the end of February 1996, Wiley and Sons published The G Factor, a book by Scottish psychologist Christopher Brand, which explores the hereditary nature of psychological and mental differences and argues that the state educational system is incapable of accommodating those differences. In conversations with journalists about this book, Brand expressed his opinion about the innate psychological differences “between whites and blacks.” In April of that year, Wiley stopped publishing that book. Brand claims that at the same time, the administration of the University of Edinburgh, after 26 years without a single complaint, began a “witch hunt” against him. Brand was fired from his university position on August 8, 1997, for his professional argument in defense of Daniel Carlton Gajdusek (Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine), who was convicted of child molestation.

James Watson

In October 2007, the British newspaper The Sunday Times quoted leading geneticist James Watson as saying that the "social policies" pursued by civilized countries in Africa are flawed because they are based on the assumption that blacks are no different from whites in their innate intellectual abilities. while “all experience says that this is not so.” According to the scientist, it is natural for people to want to think that they are all equal, but “people who have dealt with menial workers know that this is not true.”[44][45]

James Watson's new book, Avoid Boring People, makes similar points. A genetic scientist claims that in the next decade genes that are responsible for differences in the level of human intelligence may be discovered[46].

The British Science Museum canceled a planned lecture by Nobel laureate James Watson in connection with the famous geneticist's statements about the intellectual superiority of the white race over the black race[45].

On October 25, 2007, Nobel laureate James Watson was forced to resign as head of the Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory due to a scandal caused by his remarks about blacks.[47]

What is racism in simple words

At a universal human level, we can understand what racism is by viewing it through a system of established historical and social prejudices based on racial differences. It is believed that, depending on their origin, people initially differ not only in appearance, but also in the degree of development of physical abilities (northerners are resistant to cold, the Negroid race is faster and stronger), intellectual capabilities (Europeans are more prone to scientific work and the development of a high social system), as well as moral and cultural principles. What is considered unworthy or weak in one population will be considered the opposite in another. This also includes different ways of life, both in raising children and in leading one’s entire life. This may include condemnation of polygamy or the communal system as outdated concepts or insufficiently social (archaic forms).

As a result of such a stereotype about the unworthiness of someone else’s way of life and unscientific ideas about the differences between people, even at the biological level, a great conflict is ignited, aimed at oppression (ban on quality education, low wages, inaccessibility of ruling positions) and extermination (complete destruction of different peoples).

Racism, instead of recognizing differences and providing the opportunity to learn from others and gain experience of a new culture, closes the entire development of society and leads to degeneration. The ideas of Nazism are the most destructive form of the development of racism, when they talk not only about differences, but about the unworthiness of others.

There is not only a policy of racism at high levels, but also everyday manifestations, when children who are different from the majority are not accepted into their circle, or when students from other countries are assessed more strictly, and the entire emphasis is on mistakes. There is such an ingrained stereotypical behavior that when seeing one of the other representatives, people can switch sides, expecting theft or aggression. This is not due to a person’s personal behavior, but to our lack of understanding of the peculiarities of national culture and the unacceptability of certain forms of behavior for them.

Fear of gypsies and southern peoples is due to the calmer temperament of Europeans, who perceive their behavioral manifestations not as emotions, but as an act of aggression. The regularity of the Finns or the recklessness of the Russians is not perceived as a separate manifestation of the traditions of development, but is considered not the dignity of the entire nation, just as skin color can impose its own perception. It is worth noting that racism is often used in a negative way, when it comes to infringement, but there is also an exalting one (for example, that the Japanese are smart, the Germans are disciplined, etc.).

Europe

Britannia

Some researchers locate the origins of Nazi philosophy in the imperialist ideology and practice of the British Empire. According to Sarkisyants, the real teacher of the Nazis was the English philosopher Thomas Carlyle[19].

Germany

Third Reich

United Germany

According to the German Office for the Protection of the Constitution, the number of far-right extremists in Germany increased by half in 2009 - from about 20 thousand to 30. Experts explain this by the deterioration of the economic situation and the drop in living standards due to the global financial crisis[20].

Italy

• April 19, 1937 - decree banning mixing with Ethiopians[21]
• December 30, 1937 - decree banning mixing with Arabs[21]
• November 17, 1938 - decree banning mixing with Jews and banning Jews from government and military service[22]

Abolished after the fall of fascism in 1943[23].

According to recent studies, racial hatred remains at a high level in Europe. The problem also lies in the fact that even migrants from third world countries who moved to Europe become carriers of racial prejudice[24].

Biological basis of racism

When analyzing what the theory of racism is, it is necessary to dwell on the biological justification, when the concept of polygenesis was put at the forefront. This school of thought argues that different human races arose from different ancestors - it is based on a Darwinian basis, but does not stand up to criticism. After conducting several studies of genetic materials, skeletal bones and evolutionary stages of formation in different parts of the world, identical results were obtained, respectively, the entire human species, despite phenotypic differences, descended from one ancestor.

The biologization of differences does not stop there, but more objective data is present. Thus, humanity originated in warm African countries and initially everyone had the same set of genes. Then, as a result of settlement and the development of civilization, conditions appeared for increasing development of the territory. So some people left for a less hot climate and, living there, their skin and hair adapted to the existing conditions - they became lighter and straighter. Those who find themselves in areas with strong winds or cold have their eyes narrowed to better protect them from dust and sand. Those who lived in the steppes and deserts are taller in order to see food and prey at a greater distance, and the people of the mountains are more squat, since for them the need to hide and not be noticed is more necessary. In hundreds of years of adaptation, the human body has changed as much as possible and phenotypic differences have resulted, leading to a distorted understanding that these are completely different people.

This biological theory is not so clear, but it works for a short period of time, when separated twins in different parts of the world were not similar to each other by the time they reached middle age. It is external conditions (climate, work performed, quality of life) that influence a person’s appearance. Nowadays, humanity is becoming more and more homogeneous, because... Borders are being erased again, many interethnic marriages are appearing, and harsh weather conditions are regulated by the achievements of progress. Conditions of activity change our bodies more, lengthening the three main fingers and increasingly shortening the little finger due to disuse; as a result of such examples, it can be assumed that humanity in a thousand years will also differ from us, just as representatives of different races differ now. Regarding psychological differences, racial theory can only operate in the context of socio-cultural education, since behavior is in no way determined by genes, but only by the people around them.

Criticism of racism

The failure of racism as a theory with attempts at scientific proof, social propagation and ideological formation has already been proven at all levels. In its infancy, racism placed biological differences at the forefront, declaring only one part of people to be truly human descendants and classifying others as more animal species. With the development of the research base and the possibility of studying both genetics and the entire human structure in all racial diversity, the undeniable results of the falsity and unscientific nature of any racist statements were put forward.

In terms of health indicators, substance content standards and functional characteristics of all organs and systems, all representatives give approximately the same results. Many years of psychological studies of differences in the characters of various peoples have not led to proof of their presence. All that exists at the moment is a phenotypic difference (also present within one race), as well as features of the social structure. The differences are very serious, but they are not fixed at the genetic and biological levels. An Asian raised in a Negroid family will behave more similar not to his own national characteristic, but to the surrounding majority. Negroid representatives who received such an education show the same results as Europeans in intellectual work and the ability to manage large projects.

There are indeed differences, but this must be attributed to characteristics, such as the type of temperament or the ability to run long distances. Any infringements based on race lead to the escalation of the conflict and are a lever for inciting wars and confrontations necessary for political and economic purposes. Such stereotypical beliefs, again, only affect people who are not well versed in biological issues, and who do not have access (due to situational or intellectual limitations) to resources that provide criticism and refutation of centuries-old opinions.

Combating racism and racial discrimination

The UN General Assembly at its 25th session (1970) adopted a resolution declaring “a firm determination to achieve the complete elimination of racial discrimination and racism, against which the conscience and sense of justice of all mankind rebel.”[40]

The Moscow "group of specialist experts" from UNESCO condemned all types of racism in 1964[41].

In 1966, the General Assembly established the International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination.

The General Assembly proclaimed 2001 the International Year of Mobilization to Combat Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia and Related Intolerance

».

In 2001, the General Assembly held hearings of the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, where it was noted that action to combat racism and racial discrimination was now in its third decade.[42]

The International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination defines racial discrimination as follows:

Positive discrimination

Positive discrimination (English: affirmative action) is the creation of advantages for previously discriminated against racial, sexual or religious minorities in order to equalize their position: for example, measures practiced in the United States to increase the number of representatives of the African race in government agencies and private companies. This practice, which gained institutionalized support in the second half of the 20th century, is not considered racist by the government and is not prosecuted.

Critics of the policy of “positive discrimination” demand its abolition, since, in their opinion, this phenomenon fully falls within the definition of racism according to the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination[43]