Cultural Relativism And Old Racism

Historically, this notion of cultural relativism developed to fight the old racism. Starting in the Fifteenth Century and culminating in the Nineteenth Century, the old racism was based upon a notion of civilizational hierarchy. Believing that all human populations pass through three stages--savagery, barbarism, and civilization--these racists confidently and arrogantly averred that only whites achieved the last stage of development. They believed that only whites are suited or capable of civilization and that other groups occupy intermediate rungs on the ladder--either savagery or