The October issue of the Gloom Boom Doom report was an in depth look at some of the more important economic and social questions of our day, placed in the broader framework of history. We suggest strongly that you read the full Gloom Doom Boom letter which we provide here and then decide for yourself what was really said by Marc Faber.
Conclusion by PT
As readers of this blog know, we are equal opportunity offenders here. We regularly publish articles by people who have no respect for political correctness whatsoever. We only try to make sure that those we publish know what they are talking about. Whether it is Republicans, Democrats, Catholic Popes, EU Commissars, central bankers, or the political leaders of India – no-one is safe. Of course, for allowing no-holds-barred criticism of these poor, powerful authority figures, their courtier intellectuals and in the case of politicians, the people voting for them, we have occasionally been accused of bigotry. Such accusations often strike us as a case of projection.
As mentioned above, we would probably have expressed ourselves differently than Dr. Faber did, but bluntness is part of his style. We admire that he has refused to knuckle under and is sticking to his guns despite the backlash.
The October Gloom, Boom and Doom Report can be downloaded below – context is important and this provides a lot more of it than was available elsewhere: Gloom, Boom and Doom Report, October 2017 (PDF).
Matter of Style
Tenebrarum notes that being blunt is part of Faber’s style. It’s part of mine, and it’s part of Tenebrarum’s as well.
The problem I had when I wrote my article is a problem I still have.
If one believes that blacks are inferior, then one is a racist by definition: “A person who shows or feels discrimination or prejudice against people of other races, or who believes that a particular race is superior to another.”
I added “The US is great because it was founded by an amazing group of free-market capitalists and right-minded educated intellectuals. Race was not a factor.” Repeating a block of text from the above article …
The Constitution’s Bill of Rights is what makes the US great. There is nothing else like it in the world. It’s a unique constitution put together by a unique set of educated lawyers and other scholars.
The First Amendment grants freedom of speech and freedom of the press.
That’s what enables Faber to say what he did. And that’s a good thing, whether you agree with him or not! China imprisons or kills people for saying something the state disagrees with. Numerous countries in Europe would fine Faber for such remarks.
The First Amendment prohibits state-sponsored religion. Many Republicans who allegedly want a strict constitution, ought to take a closer look. School prayer does not fit in.
Democrats might wish to consider the Second Amendment.
Everyone should appreciate the right to be secure in their home. That’s the Fourth Amendment.
The Sixth Amendment grants a speedy trial.
Race has nothing to do with the brilliance of the US constitution other than the fact it happened to be drafted by whites. One can accurately state that at that time, there were not as many educated blacks as whites, but it was education level (arguably coupled with sheer luck), not race, that made the difference.
Slippery Slope
Some readers pointed out the slippery slope the US is on.
I certainly agree. Look no further than homeland security, civil forfeiture, and collegiate enforcement of politically correct speech to the point of absurdity.
But slippery slope or not, I doubt that any group of people (white, black, red, yellow, or purple) other than the amazing set of individuals who were in the right place at the right time, could have drafted the Constitution of the United States.
Is Faber a Racist?
Tenebrarum comments: “Perhaps one should ask his Thai wife if she thinks he hates her or considers her inferior. Or maybe one should ask his mixed-race daughter what she thinks about it. We actually happen to know her personally and although we only met her on one occasion, our educated guess is that her reaction to anyone posing such an absurd question would be to laugh them out of the room.”
Be careful what you name your kids folks, it might offend somebody.
On numerous college campuses across the country, it is impossible to say or do anything without offending someone. Even words like “he” and “she” are offensive.
If you think I am making this up, please consider Cardiff Metropolitan University Bans All “Politically Incorrect” Words: Amusing List of Banned Words.
And please, try to avoid words like “mother” and “father” unless you can say “mother and father” together. Yes, the article states that.
Gee, is there an order for this? Yes, there is. It better be random. Always saying mother first could get you in trouble. The article did not say but the phrase “ladies and gentlemen” clearly has to go.
Victim of Political Correctness?
Is Faber a victim of political correctness? Tenebrarum presented that case.
However, Faber made a racially-charged statement when he could have and should have cited education and culture, not race.
Culture and Education
Tenebrarum and many of my readers put a spotlight on culture whereas I noted “free-market capitalists and right-minded educated intellectuals.”
Culture and education are interesting points in this regard.
If blacks in the 1700s did not have the navigation skills, the shipbuilding skills, a firm understanding of property rights, and the required spirit of adventure (collectively the necessary educational skills and culture), then it would have been impossible for blacks to found America because they could not or would not have crossed the Atlantic ocean in the first place.
There was no need to “Thank God white people populated America” because anything else was deemed educationally and culturally impossible.
Lost in the debate is the banning by news media of the author of what I believe is the best investment book ever written: Tomorrow’s Gold, by Marc Faber.
Mike “Mish” Shedlock
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If you actually dig a bit deeper, one would discover that native americans had advanced civilisations here long before europeans showed up. In fact based on reading the diaries of those who first came to the americas, you will find that many libertarian ideas came out of native american societies (such as equal rights for both genders). That Marc Faber maybe ignorant of such things is not a problem. What would be good is to point him towards facts related to how advanced many of these civilisations (where you had clean streets with running water and people bathed on a regular basis) were compared to the europeans who arrived in the Americas. It would help to shift his ideas (since Mr. Faber comes across as someone who basis his ideas on what facts he has at hand rather then opinions) from what some consider to be racist.
Hooligan
8 years ago
Is it also racist to say that blacks are far better athletes than asians or whites (olympic track sports, basketball/football players) because they are less inclined to adopt political correctness and more inclined to celebrate their “coolness”? Or that Indian sub-continent people are physically inferior to everyone, because they suck at ALL sports, except cricket? Each of us is better than others of different cultures, skin colors etc and thank god for that. People’s differences are what makes living a pleasure. Positive or negative discrimiation is a crime.
CJones
8 years ago
crikey this new website is awful
CJones
8 years ago
So someone who has paid to hear Marc Faber’s musings in his private subscription service takes offenceto an opinion presented in a private pay-for subscription service. They break the copyright (which is stated on every report up front in case of any doubt).
TCW
8 years ago
No hate here, but I read one time, have no idea where, that with black folks the average IQ of the men was 15 points lower than the average for the women. Since they live in the same environment the difference had to be attributed to genetics. A black women’s IQ was the same as a white woman.
DaninMaryland
8 years ago
I think you do understand what Faber was thinking. He said what he wss thinking
DaninMaryland
8 years ago
“I can’t for the life of me understand what Faber was thinking”
RonJ
8 years ago
“And every IQ testing/research/official statistics shows blacks in Africa at the very bottom of the planet” The enter button should not automatically post. Just how does one skip down two lines to start a new paragraph? IQ testing, created by whom? Take a group of white people living on welfare and what will their IQ be? “You can improve a bit by better schooling, but you’re not going to remove the entire difference by that.” Jaimie Escalante took a group of low income hispanic students and turned them into math whizes. I guarantee he could have done the same with students from Africa.
RonJ
8 years ago
“And every IQ testing/research/official statistics shows blacks in Africa at the very bottom of the planet”
Aethor
8 years ago
Other races also had their own accomplishments – look for example at the civilization in China for the past two thousand years – then look at Africa during the same period.
Aethor
8 years ago
The other part of real data is what was historically accomplished by the white European race vs what was accomplished in Africa – and that info can be found in history books, on the net, just look for it.
Aethor
8 years ago
IQ as we know is part genetic and part upbringing. You can improve a bit by better schooling, but you’re not going to remove the entire difference by that.
Aethor
8 years ago
In other words: it’s not racism if it’s true. And every IQ testing/research/official statistics shows blacks in Africa at the very bottom of the planet
Aethor
8 years ago
Whoa there… a belief that one race is inferior to another would be racism only if that belief were false, based on pure belief or politics or religion, and not supported by facts and research.
JoeAllen
8 years ago
So, why am I a RACIST if I observe that White people have a GENIUS for politics and economics … ???
JoeAllen
8 years ago
Mish is thinking ONE-DIMENSIONALLY. If I say that Blacks dominate many Sports (basketball, track, football, etc), I am called a wise observer, NOT a RACIST.
DBG8489
8 years ago
@ElTedo
Racism (or even the perception of) isn’t a crime… Yet. However, the “hate crime” tag does come awfully close by guessing at the perpetrators “state of mind” when they committed the crime.
Notice I used “they” instead of “he or she” LOL
DBG8489
8 years ago
@JonSellers – your definition is actually the definition of “sterotyping”. The definition of “racism” is what Mish said it was: The belief that one race is genetically superior to another.
El_Tedo
8 years ago
“or who believes that a particular race is superior to another” – This is where Mish loses me. Racism as a thought crime?
RonJ
8 years ago
“George Washington Carver: don’t confuse individuals with populations!” George Washngton Carver was part of a population. Thus his environment was that which propelled him to greatness. I forget the name, but there was a person who started an academy in Harlem. Those students performed rather well and went on to college. Jaime Escalante, took low income hispanic kids in his class and turned then into math whizes.
RonJ
8 years ago
“George Washington Carver: don’t confuse individuals with populations!”
JonSellers
8 years ago
And let’s not forget that white and black people were pretty late to the game. The continent was originally colonized by asians. The only reason that the US is what it is, is because those white people were willing to commit mass murder on a continent-wide scale. That isn’t something to be proud of.
JonSellers
8 years ago
My definition of racism: When you attribute characteristics you associate with a race to every member of that race. Just because I meet a white guy in a trailer park with one tooth and stoned on oxycontin doesn’t mean that every white guy is a toothless drug addict. I know some quite well-educated productive white guys (I like to think I’m one of them). I’ve met some pretty stupid, miserable black guys in the ‘hood. I’ve also worked with brilliant black engineers. It isn’t race. It’s culture.
JanNL
8 years ago
George Washington Carver: don’t confuse individuals with populations!
RonJ
8 years ago
“The idea that several thousand generations of separate evolution did not cause genetic differences between populations is untenable (and disproven). And it is unlikely that these differences are limited to ones that are currently acceptable.” George Washington Carver. Read about him in school, growing up. Came up with some incredible number of things one could use peanuts for. What ever genetic differences Carver may have had, didn’t affect his scientific ability.
RonJ
8 years ago
“The idea that several thousand generations of separate evolution did not cause genetic differences between populations is untenable (and disproven). And it is unlikely that these differences are limited to ones that are currently acceptable.”
JanNL
8 years ago
Constitution and Bill of Rights should ofcourse apply to citizens of all races.
JanNL
8 years ago
The idea that several thousand generations of separate evolution did not cause genetic differences between populations is untenable (and disproven). And it is unlikely that these differences are limited to ones that are currently acceptable.
RickCaird
8 years ago
This is what I wrote at Denninger’s place I stand by it.
I saw Mish comment on this and I was quite disappointed. This was not a racist statement. No rational person thinks that anyone from Africa in 1776 was familiar with Hobbes, Locke, Burke, and Rousseau. No one from Africa would have been steeped in Western civilization since before the Greeks Nor would they be familiar with England’s release from the rule of Kings via documents like the Magna Carta. About all the government the Africans were aware of were tribal leaders. They had no theory of democracy or republics. They had no theory of limited government. They had no theory of natural law.
Faber is 100% correct and doesn’t take a “racist” to see that. Anyone complaining about Faber would be forced to admit he is right with less than 15 seconds of reflection
KidHorn
8 years ago
The truth has been replaced with what we wish were the truth. We want all races to be equal so we’ve made it into a fact and anyone who disputes it is a racist. It’s no different than wishing Assad is responsible for every chemical weapons attack in Syria so we made it a fact. Our government is leading the way in defining facts as whatever they wish they were.
MntGoat
8 years ago
Just a statement of fact…no opinions or reasons given here. As far as I know there is really not ONE nation, state, city, neighborhood or even city block in the world….that is predominately black, run by blacks, and controlled by blacks, that is a very nice place to be. Not one. Talking about a functional gov’t, decent schools, low crime, etc… Not one. There is not one predominately black city/neighborhood in the USA that is nice place. The predominately black Caribbean islands are slums outside the resorts. The highest crime/poverty areas of Brazil are the more black areas. The only place you would want to be for long in Sub Saharan Africa is the white part of South Africa. You can make a very good argument that this current state of black areas is due to historical discrimination, slavery, colonization. But there are many other countries that were colonized that are now doing pretty well and are on the rise. African nations and predominately black areas of the world, are the poorest and most behind places overall in the world. Again, just a statement of fact.
MntGoat
8 years ago
i agree with Mish in that I do not buy the fact that race correlates with IQ.
MntGoat
8 years ago
Excellent article Mish. You make great points.
madashellowell
8 years ago
I think what our “scientists tell us is that we should always accept their learned theories over facts as we see them with our own eyes. Every government dominated by blacks, regardless of continent, appear to display common traits, but I’m sure it means nothing. A predisposition to tolerate dependency and domination? And always, let us ignore that it was blacks who sold other blacks into slavery, and it was whites, not blacks, that ended it in western societies….yet it still remains in parts of Africa. I hope my white privilege isn’t showing too much.
madashellowell
8 years ago
Mish, you can’t seriously believe that every race is equal in every respect. We listen to adds telling us they can determine predispositions for almost every human disease and trait through genetics…almost everything EXCEPT intelligence and propensity to antisocial behaviors. Coincidence? I don’t think so. Of course “consensus” doe’s tell us that whites, as a race, are racists….so there’s that. Sorry about the Mush….spell check strikes again.
wootendw
8 years ago
This may sound like a racist statement but the ‘whitest’ state (non-African American, non-Native American, etc) in the United States is Vermont. It’s also the only one that elected a socialist (Bernie Sanders) as its sole Representative and now a Senator.
wootendw
8 years ago
“The US is great because it was founded by an amazing group of free-market capitalists and right-minded educated intellectuals. Race was not a factor.”
madashellowell
8 years ago
So Mush, are all “races” of dogs, cattle, birds, cats equal?
guidoamm
8 years ago
“Race has nothing to do with the brilliance of the US constitution other than the fact it happened to be drafted by whites. One can accurately state that at that time, there were not as many educated blacks as whites, but it was education level (arguably coupled with sheer luck), not race, that made the difference.” …. …. Although race may have little to do with it, culture has everything to do with it. … … The fact that Western culture dominates globally and is aspired to by most people is neither right nor wrong. It is what it is. The issue is whether or not a type of culture that is not founded on principles contemplating abstract concepts such as the definition of the individual and, as a direct result, the concept of personal responsibility thus individual rights, could have achieved the cultural, social and material advances that Western society has. And the answer is a resounding no. Faber is not condemning the foundational principles of other societies nor is he condemning their values nor their priorities. Faber is merely stating that other cultures do not contemplate those foundational principles that allow the emergence of personal intellectual enlightenment thus the emancipation of the individual. What Faber says is that what the United States have become today, what it offers to citizens and what it offers to the wider human cause, could not have emerged under the guidance of other societies. Because other cultures in Africa, the Middle East or South America continue to demonstrate resistance to adopting those foundational principles that empower the individual and that have resulted in what is visible today in the USA and Europe. Once again, this is not a judgement as to whether Western culture is better or not. It is merely a statement of fact. One could argue on the other hand, that the great effort expended by the great and the good to impose Western values on everyone else is at best condescending and, at worst, the purest form of colonisation. The IMF, the World Bank, the UN and sundry NGOs that descend upon societies that are deemed to be primitive, backwards and “inhumane” in an attempt at reshaping them in order to make them be more like Western societies, that is the true crime that is being perpetrated since decades with very little to show for it if now war and wholesale slaughter far and wide.
guidoamm
8 years ago
“Race has nothing to do with the brilliance of the US constitution other than the fact it happened to be drafted by whites. One can accurately state that at that time, there were not as many educated blacks as whites, but it was education level (arguably coupled with sheer luck), not race, that made the difference.”
Maximus_Minimus
8 years ago
Who brought IQ into discussion? Mark Faber definitely did not. If you can even define IQ, then you are smarter than 99.99% of the population. The best defence for Faber would be that he is old, independently wealthy, and if those who do not like what he writes in HIS report, could jump off the bridge.
SweetKenny
8 years ago
Can a race being culturally depressed over generations have an effect on their average IQ?
Mish
8 years ago
IQ is not about race. If whites were culturally depressed, they would have lower IQs.
Since2008
8 years ago
Reading through Wikipedia a few minutes ago it appears the whole concept of “race” based on physical characteristics has only been around 200 or 300 years. I suspect it was popularized by “On the Origin of Species (or more completely, On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection, or the Preservation of Favoured Races in the Struggle for Life), published on 24 November 1859 by Charles Darwin. If anyone knows a book on the history of the concept of “races” existing please let us know. I’d like to lean more about how this notion of there being different “races” came about. Mish knows a lot of some things but someone out there must know more about this concept of race and where it comes from.
Since2008
8 years ago
Ummm…I meant “inalienable”. I’m blaming my assistant: Siri. On the other hand, our rights/freedoms/liberties do seem more “alienable” every year that goes by. So perhaps Siri is correct and the Constitutuon/law and I are wrong.
SweetKenny
8 years ago
http://psychology.wikia.com/wiki/Race_and_intelligence in regards to grades, what do you call a B? An Asian F. I’m not Asian but I can accept and respect that as a race they are, on average, smarter. In higher education, they are penalized and require higher marks to get in the same courses as other races. How is saying that racist?
SweetKenny
8 years ago
It’s proven that different races have different average IQ’s. Facts aren’t racist. What about Ashkenazi Jews?
Since2008
8 years ago
Mish, the first sentence of the first amendment protects your freedom of religion. Freedom of speech and the press come later in the amendment. Furthermore, the federal Republican Party and federal Democrat Party do not “grant” you those things. PolitIcal parties only take away the freedom which you with born with i.e. are endowed with by your creator – although good people protect you when the bad people take away the freedom you were born with. The constitution you are writing about recognizes the reality that you were born with these freedoms. These freedoms are are alienable rights and given to you by your creator not “granted“ to you by national political parties which maneuver to take over countries
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If you actually dig a bit deeper, one would discover that native americans had advanced civilisations here long before europeans showed up. In fact based on reading the diaries of those who first came to the americas, you will find that many libertarian ideas came out of native american societies (such as equal rights for both genders). That Marc Faber maybe ignorant of such things is not a problem. What would be good is to point him towards facts related to how advanced many of these civilisations (where you had clean streets with running water and people bathed on a regular basis) were compared to the europeans who arrived in the Americas. It would help to shift his ideas (since Mr. Faber comes across as someone who basis his ideas on what facts he has at hand rather then opinions) from what some consider to be racist.
Is it also racist to say that blacks are far better athletes than asians or whites (olympic track sports, basketball/football players) because they are less inclined to adopt political correctness and more inclined to celebrate their “coolness”? Or that Indian sub-continent people are physically inferior to everyone, because they suck at ALL sports, except cricket? Each of us is better than others of different cultures, skin colors etc and thank god for that. People’s differences are what makes living a pleasure. Positive or negative discrimiation is a crime.
crikey this new website is awful
So someone who has paid to hear Marc Faber’s musings in his private subscription service takes offenceto an opinion presented in a private pay-for subscription service. They break the copyright (which is stated on every report up front in case of any doubt).
No hate here, but I read one time, have no idea where, that with black folks the average IQ of the men was 15 points lower than the average for the women. Since they live in the same environment the difference had to be attributed to genetics. A black women’s IQ was the same as a white woman.
I think you do understand what Faber was thinking. He said what he wss thinking
“I can’t for the life of me understand what Faber was thinking”
“And every IQ testing/research/official statistics shows blacks in Africa at the very bottom of the planet” The enter button should not automatically post. Just how does one skip down two lines to start a new paragraph? IQ testing, created by whom? Take a group of white people living on welfare and what will their IQ be? “You can improve a bit by better schooling, but you’re not going to remove the entire difference by that.” Jaimie Escalante took a group of low income hispanic students and turned them into math whizes. I guarantee he could have done the same with students from Africa.
“And every IQ testing/research/official statistics shows blacks in Africa at the very bottom of the planet”
Other races also had their own accomplishments – look for example at the civilization in China for the past two thousand years – then look at Africa during the same period.
The other part of real data is what was historically accomplished by the white European race vs what was accomplished in Africa – and that info can be found in history books, on the net, just look for it.
IQ as we know is part genetic and part upbringing. You can improve a bit by better schooling, but you’re not going to remove the entire difference by that.
In other words: it’s not racism if it’s true. And every IQ testing/research/official statistics shows blacks in Africa at the very bottom of the planet
Whoa there… a belief that one race is inferior to another would be racism only if that belief were false, based on pure belief or politics or religion, and not supported by facts and research.
So, why am I a RACIST if I observe that White people have a GENIUS for politics and economics … ???
Mish is thinking ONE-DIMENSIONALLY. If I say that Blacks dominate many Sports (basketball, track, football, etc), I am called a wise observer, NOT a RACIST.
@ElTedo
Racism (or even the perception of) isn’t a crime… Yet. However, the “hate crime” tag does come awfully close by guessing at the perpetrators “state of mind” when they committed the crime.
Notice I used “they” instead of “he or she” LOL
@JonSellers – your definition is actually the definition of “sterotyping”. The definition of “racism” is what Mish said it was: The belief that one race is genetically superior to another.
“or who believes that a particular race is superior to another” – This is where Mish loses me. Racism as a thought crime?
“George Washington Carver: don’t confuse individuals with populations!” George Washngton Carver was part of a population. Thus his environment was that which propelled him to greatness. I forget the name, but there was a person who started an academy in Harlem. Those students performed rather well and went on to college. Jaime Escalante, took low income hispanic kids in his class and turned then into math whizes.
“George Washington Carver: don’t confuse individuals with populations!”
And let’s not forget that white and black people were pretty late to the game. The continent was originally colonized by asians. The only reason that the US is what it is, is because those white people were willing to commit mass murder on a continent-wide scale. That isn’t something to be proud of.
My definition of racism: When you attribute characteristics you associate with a race to every member of that race. Just because I meet a white guy in a trailer park with one tooth and stoned on oxycontin doesn’t mean that every white guy is a toothless drug addict. I know some quite well-educated productive white guys (I like to think I’m one of them). I’ve met some pretty stupid, miserable black guys in the ‘hood. I’ve also worked with brilliant black engineers. It isn’t race. It’s culture.
George Washington Carver: don’t confuse individuals with populations!
“The idea that several thousand generations of separate evolution did not cause genetic differences between populations is untenable (and disproven). And it is unlikely that these differences are limited to ones that are currently acceptable.” George Washington Carver. Read about him in school, growing up. Came up with some incredible number of things one could use peanuts for. What ever genetic differences Carver may have had, didn’t affect his scientific ability.
“The idea that several thousand generations of separate evolution did not cause genetic differences between populations is untenable (and disproven). And it is unlikely that these differences are limited to ones that are currently acceptable.”
Constitution and Bill of Rights should ofcourse apply to citizens of all races.
The idea that several thousand generations of separate evolution did not cause genetic differences between populations is untenable (and disproven). And it is unlikely that these differences are limited to ones that are currently acceptable.
This is what I wrote at Denninger’s place I stand by it.
I saw Mish comment on this and I was quite disappointed. This was not a racist statement. No rational person thinks that anyone from Africa in 1776 was familiar with Hobbes, Locke, Burke, and Rousseau. No one from Africa would have been steeped in Western civilization since before the Greeks Nor would they be familiar with England’s release from the rule of Kings via documents like the Magna Carta. About all the government the Africans were aware of were tribal leaders. They had no theory of democracy or republics. They had no theory of limited government. They had no theory of natural law.
Faber is 100% correct and doesn’t take a “racist” to see that. Anyone complaining about Faber would be forced to admit he is right with less than 15 seconds of reflection
The truth has been replaced with what we wish were the truth. We want all races to be equal so we’ve made it into a fact and anyone who disputes it is a racist. It’s no different than wishing Assad is responsible for every chemical weapons attack in Syria so we made it a fact. Our government is leading the way in defining facts as whatever they wish they were.
Just a statement of fact…no opinions or reasons given here. As far as I know there is really not ONE nation, state, city, neighborhood or even city block in the world….that is predominately black, run by blacks, and controlled by blacks, that is a very nice place to be. Not one. Talking about a functional gov’t, decent schools, low crime, etc… Not one. There is not one predominately black city/neighborhood in the USA that is nice place. The predominately black Caribbean islands are slums outside the resorts. The highest crime/poverty areas of Brazil are the more black areas. The only place you would want to be for long in Sub Saharan Africa is the white part of South Africa. You can make a very good argument that this current state of black areas is due to historical discrimination, slavery, colonization. But there are many other countries that were colonized that are now doing pretty well and are on the rise. African nations and predominately black areas of the world, are the poorest and most behind places overall in the world. Again, just a statement of fact.
i agree with Mish in that I do not buy the fact that race correlates with IQ.
Excellent article Mish. You make great points.
I think what our “scientists tell us is that we should always accept their learned theories over facts as we see them with our own eyes. Every government dominated by blacks, regardless of continent, appear to display common traits, but I’m sure it means nothing. A predisposition to tolerate dependency and domination? And always, let us ignore that it was blacks who sold other blacks into slavery, and it was whites, not blacks, that ended it in western societies….yet it still remains in parts of Africa. I hope my white privilege isn’t showing too much.
Mish, you can’t seriously believe that every race is equal in every respect. We listen to adds telling us they can determine predispositions for almost every human disease and trait through genetics…almost everything EXCEPT intelligence and propensity to antisocial behaviors. Coincidence? I don’t think so. Of course “consensus” doe’s tell us that whites, as a race, are racists….so there’s that. Sorry about the Mush….spell check strikes again.
This may sound like a racist statement but the ‘whitest’ state (non-African American, non-Native American, etc) in the United States is Vermont. It’s also the only one that elected a socialist (Bernie Sanders) as its sole Representative and now a Senator.
“The US is great because it was founded by an amazing group of free-market capitalists and right-minded educated intellectuals. Race was not a factor.”
So Mush, are all “races” of dogs, cattle, birds, cats equal?
“Race has nothing to do with the brilliance of the US constitution other than the fact it happened to be drafted by whites. One can accurately state that at that time, there were not as many educated blacks as whites, but it was education level (arguably coupled with sheer luck), not race, that made the difference.” …. …. Although race may have little to do with it, culture has everything to do with it. … … The fact that Western culture dominates globally and is aspired to by most people is neither right nor wrong. It is what it is. The issue is whether or not a type of culture that is not founded on principles contemplating abstract concepts such as the definition of the individual and, as a direct result, the concept of personal responsibility thus individual rights, could have achieved the cultural, social and material advances that Western society has. And the answer is a resounding no. Faber is not condemning the foundational principles of other societies nor is he condemning their values nor their priorities. Faber is merely stating that other cultures do not contemplate those foundational principles that allow the emergence of personal intellectual enlightenment thus the emancipation of the individual. What Faber says is that what the United States have become today, what it offers to citizens and what it offers to the wider human cause, could not have emerged under the guidance of other societies. Because other cultures in Africa, the Middle East or South America continue to demonstrate resistance to adopting those foundational principles that empower the individual and that have resulted in what is visible today in the USA and Europe. Once again, this is not a judgement as to whether Western culture is better or not. It is merely a statement of fact. One could argue on the other hand, that the great effort expended by the great and the good to impose Western values on everyone else is at best condescending and, at worst, the purest form of colonisation. The IMF, the World Bank, the UN and sundry NGOs that descend upon societies that are deemed to be primitive, backwards and “inhumane” in an attempt at reshaping them in order to make them be more like Western societies, that is the true crime that is being perpetrated since decades with very little to show for it if now war and wholesale slaughter far and wide.
“Race has nothing to do with the brilliance of the US constitution other than the fact it happened to be drafted by whites. One can accurately state that at that time, there were not as many educated blacks as whites, but it was education level (arguably coupled with sheer luck), not race, that made the difference.”
Who brought IQ into discussion? Mark Faber definitely did not. If you can even define IQ, then you are smarter than 99.99% of the population. The best defence for Faber would be that he is old, independently wealthy, and if those who do not like what he writes in HIS report, could jump off the bridge.
Can a race being culturally depressed over generations have an effect on their average IQ?
IQ is not about race. If whites were culturally depressed, they would have lower IQs.
Reading through Wikipedia a few minutes ago it appears the whole concept of “race” based on physical characteristics has only been around 200 or 300 years. I suspect it was popularized by “On the Origin of Species (or more completely, On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection, or the Preservation of Favoured Races in the Struggle for Life), published on 24 November 1859 by Charles Darwin. If anyone knows a book on the history of the concept of “races” existing please let us know. I’d like to lean more about how this notion of there being different “races” came about. Mish knows a lot of some things but someone out there must know more about this concept of race and where it comes from.
Ummm…I meant “inalienable”. I’m blaming my assistant: Siri. On the other hand, our rights/freedoms/liberties do seem more “alienable” every year that goes by. So perhaps Siri is correct and the Constitutuon/law and I are wrong.
http://psychology.wikia.com/wiki/Race_and_intelligence in regards to grades, what do you call a B? An Asian F. I’m not Asian but I can accept and respect that as a race they are, on average, smarter. In higher education, they are penalized and require higher marks to get in the same courses as other races. How is saying that racist?
It’s proven that different races have different average IQ’s. Facts aren’t racist. What about Ashkenazi Jews?
Mish, the first sentence of the first amendment protects your freedom of religion. Freedom of speech and the press come later in the amendment. Furthermore, the federal Republican Party and federal Democrat Party do not “grant” you those things. PolitIcal parties only take away the freedom which you with born with i.e. are endowed with by your creator – although good people protect you when the bad people take away the freedom you were born with. The constitution you are writing about recognizes the reality that you were born with these freedoms. These freedoms are are alienable rights and given to you by your creator not “granted“ to you by national political parties which maneuver to take over countries