Suppose it’s true. Suppose that, at the end of the day, people of African descent have lower IQs on average than do other groups of humans, and that this gap is caused, at least in part, by genetic differences.
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There is, however, a question that those claiming black people are genetically predisposed to have lower IQs than others fail to answer: What, precisely, would we gain from discussing this particular issue?
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The first is that the IQ gap delegitimizes policy devoted to redressing the injustices that black people have suffered.
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A second purpose […] would be the opposite of the first: We might take the gap as a reason for giving not less but more attention to redressing race-based inequities.
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Finally, some advocates of “honesty” about race and IQ have argued that we must acknowledge that black people have lower IQs but must also “progress” toward an ability to celebrate individuals for a range of talents beyond intelligence.
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None of the three hypothetical scenarios I have considered would serve any purpose in the real-world America we live in.
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In our times, there is no apparent benefit to dwelling on the IQ gap. The burden is on those who claim otherwise to make their case.
The GLP aggregated and excerpted this blog/article to reflect the diversity of news, opinion, and analysis. Read full, original post: Stop Obsessing Over Race and IQ
