Stephen Jay Gould on Racism

Published: 28 September 2006 (GMT+10)

Stephen Jay Gould (1941–2002) was a leading evolutionist and Marxist, as well as a staunch anti-racist. Yet he admitted:

Biological arguments for racism may have been common before 1850, but they increased by orders of magnitude following the acceptance of evolutionary theory. The litany is familiar: cold, dispassionate, objective, modern science shows us that races can be ranked on a scale of superiority. If this offends Christian morality or a sentimental belief in human unity, so be it; science must be free to proclaim unpleasant truths.