Scientific Racism
However, Goring, funded by the British government, together with Galton used Darwin's ideas about how natural selection supports the survival of a species. Galton thought that humanity is the only biological species on Earth that evades the benevolent impact of natural selection through the development of civilization. This reduces the pressure of natural selection in human society, which, in turn, worsens the physical and mental constitution of offspring, leading to degeneration. According to Rafter, “Galton invented the term eugenics to denote efforts to breed better human beings and prevent reproduction by the unfit” (Rafter, 2011 p.237). In other words, Galton believed, that the best should choose the best as a result healthy, beautiful,
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gifted children will be born. Adherents of the idea believed that it was necessary to prevent the emergence of children from people with mental and physical disabilities, alcoholics, drug addicts, and criminals. Thus, “criminals commit crimes due to their bad heredity; if they are prevented from reproducing, crime rates will fall in the next generation” (Rafter, 2011 p. 249). Different laws have been establishing to support and actively generate the idea in Europe and the US. For instance, at beginning of the 20th century in certain states of the US laws were passed on the forced sterilization of mentally ill, criminals, and drug addicts. In Britain, a number of measures were adopted to encourage large families of the Anglo-Saxon race and create favorable conditions for the upbringing and development of gifted children (Webster, 2007). However, as Webster noted “America was a much more radicalized society than Britain at the time … [and] … that most eugenicist ideas first coalesced – from the use of IQ tests to justify incarceration of the so-called ‘feeble-minded’” (Webster, 2007 p. 16). From the US eugenic ideas spread to Germany where science became known as racial hygiene. The eugenics resulted in Nazi ideology by emergence from fear of degeneration of mankind such as alcoholism and syphilis and ended as the extermination of the Jews. Such views were shared by a significant proportion of educated people in Germany and become components of the culture (Treadwell, 2012). As Treadwell suggested,
“In early biological criminology this relation between race and crime was used to argue that certain racially defined populations were more prone to crime than others, and in turns as motivation for policies of social exclusion and also eugenic policies and genocide” (Treadwell, 2012 p. 115).
In other words, the basic eugenic provisions were distorted and turned into an ideological basis for racism and nationalism and were often supported by intellectuals concerned about the biological future of mankind. According to Rowe, “criminology began to be developed was deeply engrained with European colonialism and racism” (Rowe, 2012 p. 17). Even, scientific racism and eugenic theories have “largely been discredited, elements of biological determinism continue to resound within criminological thought, and the prospect of genetic explanations of offending behavior also suggest that debates about race and crime continue to converge” (Rowe, 2012 p. 14). However, the theory of criminality is at the root of racism, generating arbitrariness and lawlessness and “has long been part of the criminal justice system, and this needs to be kept in mind when we consider the fact that, in some countries, crime rates vary significantly amongst racial groups, with some ethnic minority groups disproportionately represented in the criminal justice system” (Treadwell, 2012 p.115). Also, police practices such as stop and search procedure tend to target certain ethnic groups (Rowe, 2012).
After analyzing different authors thoughts in regarding scientific racism and criminology it is sensible to conclude that scientific racism made the great effort to criminology as a science.
Moreover, scientific racism served the purposes of inhuman exploitation, and often the justification for the extermination of the Indians in America, Africans, and many peoples of South Asia, Australia and Oceania and settled deep in the consciousness of Western people and culture. Furthermore, the study gave an opportunity to divide people by their biological characteristics. Although, it served in the interests of slaveholders, who argued that the equation of people in rights would contradict the very nature in which inequality prevails. Scientific racism became an ideology that uses external differences as the main reason for refusing equal treatment for members of another group on the basis of scientific, biological or moral characteristics, consider them different from their own group and initially downstream. It was used to scientifically prove the serialization of people to prevent the emergence of children from families with mental and physical disabilities, alcoholics, drug addicts, and criminals. Finally, scientific racism and eugenics resulted in Nazi ideology by emergence from fear of degeneration of mankind such as alcoholism and syphilis and ended as the extermination of the Jews. It becomes part of criminal justice and resulted in state policies and police
procedures.
gifted children will be born. Adherents of the idea believed that it was necessary to prevent the emergence of children from people with mental and physical disabilities, alcoholics, drug addicts, and criminals. Thus, “criminals commit crimes due to their bad heredity; if they are prevented from reproducing, crime rates will fall in the next generation” (Rafter, 2011 p. 249). Different laws have been establishing to support and actively generate the idea in Europe and the US. For instance, at beginning of the 20th century in certain states of the US laws were passed on the forced sterilization of mentally ill, criminals, and drug addicts. In Britain, a number of measures were adopted to encourage large families of the Anglo-Saxon race and create favorable conditions for the upbringing and development of gifted children (Webster, 2007). However, as Webster noted “America was a much more radicalized society than Britain at the time … [and] … that most eugenicist ideas first coalesced – from the use of IQ tests to justify incarceration of the so-called ‘feeble-minded’” (Webster, 2007 p. 16). From the US eugenic ideas spread to Germany where science became known as racial hygiene. The eugenics resulted in Nazi ideology by emergence from fear of degeneration of mankind such as alcoholism and syphilis and ended as the extermination of the Jews. Such views were shared by a significant proportion of educated people in Germany and become components of the culture (Treadwell, 2012). As Treadwell suggested,
“In early biological criminology this relation between race and crime was used to argue that certain racially defined populations were more prone to crime than others, and in turns as motivation for policies of social exclusion and also eugenic policies and genocide” (Treadwell, 2012 p. 115).
In other words, the basic eugenic provisions were distorted and turned into an ideological basis for racism and nationalism and were often supported by intellectuals concerned about the biological future of mankind. According to Rowe, “criminology began to be developed was deeply engrained with European colonialism and racism” (Rowe, 2012 p. 17). Even, scientific racism and eugenic theories have “largely been discredited, elements of biological determinism continue to resound within criminological thought, and the prospect of genetic explanations of offending behavior also suggest that debates about race and crime continue to converge” (Rowe, 2012 p. 14). However, the theory of criminality is at the root of racism, generating arbitrariness and lawlessness and “has long been part of the criminal justice system, and this needs to be kept in mind when we consider the fact that, in some countries, crime rates vary significantly amongst racial groups, with some ethnic minority groups disproportionately represented in the criminal justice system” (Treadwell, 2012 p.115). Also, police practices such as stop and search procedure tend to target certain ethnic groups (Rowe, 2012).
After analyzing different authors thoughts in regarding scientific racism and criminology it is sensible to conclude that scientific racism made the great effort to criminology as a science.
Moreover, scientific racism served the purposes of inhuman exploitation, and often the justification for the extermination of the Indians in America, Africans, and many peoples of South Asia, Australia and Oceania and settled deep in the consciousness of Western people and culture. Furthermore, the study gave an opportunity to divide people by their biological characteristics. Although, it served in the interests of slaveholders, who argued that the equation of people in rights would contradict the very nature in which inequality prevails. Scientific racism became an ideology that uses external differences as the main reason for refusing equal treatment for members of another group on the basis of scientific, biological or moral characteristics, consider them different from their own group and initially downstream. It was used to scientifically prove the serialization of people to prevent the emergence of children from families with mental and physical disabilities, alcoholics, drug addicts, and criminals. Finally, scientific racism and eugenics resulted in Nazi ideology by emergence from fear of degeneration of mankind such as alcoholism and syphilis and ended as the extermination of the Jews. It becomes part of criminal justice and resulted in state policies and police
procedures.