A body of thoroughly debunked 'race science' is being revived by far-right figures who claim to defend truth against ignorance, according to a new analysis. The idea that certain races are inherently more intelligent than others is being promoted by a small group of anthropologists, IQ researchers, psychologists and pundits who portray themselves as noble dissidents.
Race scientists claim there are evolutionary bases for disparities in social outcomes such as life expectancy, educational attainment, wealth and incarceration rates. In particular, many argue that black people fare worse because they are less naturally intelligent. Although repeatedly debunked, these ideas have made a comeback in recent years, often used by alt-right stars to lend intellectual justification to ethno-nationalist politics.
In July 2016, Steve Bannon, then Breitbart boss and later Donald Trump's chief strategist, wrote an article suggesting some black people shot by police might have deserved it, evoking the racist contention that black people are more genetically predisposed to violence. Former New York Times science correspondent Nicholas Wade's 2014 book 'A Troublesome Inheritance' repeated three race-science shibboleths, prompting 139 leading geneticists to sign a letter accusing him of misappropriating research.
Wade told alt-right promoter Stefan Molyneux that the attack on his book was 'purely political' and had 'no scientific basis'. Molyneux has also hosted political scientist Charles Murray, co-author of 'The Bell Curve', which argued that poor black people were inherently less intelligent. Murray has become a figurehead for conservatives who portray progressives as abandoning open discourse.
