An Occasional Reader Asks If IQ Differentials Imply A Master Race—And If So, Who?

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03/21/11 - An Ohio Reader Tells Us What Teddy Kennedy And George Bush Were Thinking When They Passed NCLB

From: An Occasional Reader [Email him]

I have read your site off and on for a while now in order to get a different perspective on immigration issues. One thing that surprises me, though, is your site's assertion that blacks have low IQs relative to every other racial group. I also read the FAQ, stating that the findings on racial differences do not imply that a Master Race exists.

However, our world is becoming more technological, and high IQ people can learn new things more easily, so people with higher intelligence will prosper. Doesn't this imply that Northeast Asians (China, Japan, Korea) are in fact the Master Raceand that Africans are inferior creatures?

To be honest, I'm not sure who's right about this whole IQ thing; I just want your perspective.

James Fulford writes: You know, we were in enough trouble before we got this letter, but here goes.

First, we don't in fact, assert anything new about IQ. (And there are ethnic groups with lower average IQs than African-Americans)

Rather, we discuss the implications of what is already a scientific consensus about IQ. It's people who believe there's no such thing as IQ differentials, or in extreme cases that there's no such thing as IQ, who are engaged in pseudoscience.

Second, we think there is no such thing as a Master Race. That's because people don't want to be mastered.

Third, if there were a Master Race, it wouldn't be Northeast Asians, for reasons of personality, rather than IQ. See Why Have Asians Not Dominated?, American Renaissance, October 2009.

Fourth, the idea of a "Master Race" is a distraction—one of the first things we ever put on the site was Cavalli-Sforza II and Seven Dumb Ideas About Race by Steve Sailer:

"If races exist, then one must be supreme.

"Much of the Race Does Not Exist cant stems from the following logic (if you can call it logic): 'If there really are different racial groups, then one must be The Master Race, which means -- oh my God – that Hitler Was Right! Therefore, we must promote whatever ideas most confuse the public about race. Otherwise, they will learn the horrible truth and they'll all vote Nazi.'

"Look, this is one big non-sequitur: Of course, there are different racial groups. And of course their members tend to inherit certain different genes, on average, than the members of other racial groups. And that means racial groups will differ, on average, in various innate capabilities. But that also means that no group can be supreme at all jobs. To be excellent at one skill frequently implies being worse at something else. So, there can't be a Master Race."

Instead of wondering if there is such a thing as Master Race, it would be better to wonder if we could do something about  the Federal Government policy that says that any observable racial variance in test scores, crime rates, or speeding tickets must be the result of racial bigotry—because all races are believed by the Supreme Court to have exactly the same average IQ.