Racism Is Not Innate

"Sadly, there are signs that racism is increasing across the world. Research from Europe and Australia in recent years has found a rise in the number of people experiencing racism. Reports from the U.S. and U.K. have indicated that most ethnic minority participants felt racism was getting worse. And a global study has found rising incidents of discrimination. Animosity toward those who appear different to us seems easy to arouse, especially in times of hardship and upheaval."

"Some scientists have suggested that racism is an innate human trait that evolved in the distant past. According to the evolutionary psychologist Pascal Boyer, racism is "a consequence of highly efficient economic strategies" that enables us to "keep members of other groups in a lower-status position, with distinctly worse benefits." 1 In other words, why would our ancestors decrease their own chances of survival by sharing resources with other groups?"

Racism is increasing in many regions, with research from Europe, Australia, the U.S., and the U.K. reporting rising incidents and perceptions of worsening discrimination. Animosity toward those who appear different can be easily aroused, especially during hardship and upheaval, and minorities have been scapegoated throughout history. Some evolutionary psychological theories claim racism evolved to protect resources or save interaction costs by avoiding outgroup members. Counterevidence notes small early human populations with limited territoriality and weak group identities, and links contemporary racism to anxiety, insecurity, and a lack of personal or group identity. The concept of race lacks biological basis, as all humans share common origins.

Read at Psychology Today