Race, IQ and Liberty

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In STR's Comments Department, there appeared recently the view that blacks are, relatively and on average, by nature so stupid and violent that there is negligible hope of their forming a voluntary society in the foreseeable future.
 
Today's Zero Government Blog lays that view to rest, six feet under.

Comments

D. Saul Weiner's picture

I agree with your analysis here. For the Asians, it may very well be the case that their immigrants to the U.S. are brighter, on average, than the overall population of their country of origin, i.e. that the researchers are not relying upon a representative sample.
 
There could also be selection issues related to the U.S. black population. If the less intelligent reproduce at a higher rate than the more intelligent, that will tend to reduce the intelligence of the population over time. Now this is a true statement for all groups, but to the extent that there is a higher proportion of the black population living in poverty and that the welfare state has incentivized relatively greater fertility for that population, it may have a disproportionate impact on the U.S. black population. Which is not to suggest that all of those who are living in poverty have less than average intelligence; there are no doubt a great many who do not fit that description.
 

Jim Davies's picture

Thank you Saul, I'd not thought of that.
 
I wonder though if it is "less intelligent" to reproduce at a higher rate, if the welfare system pays more, the more babies you have. Perhaps it's street smarts more than IQ.