On Kevin MacDonald’s theory of anti-Semitism

I finished reading the second book by Kevin MacDonald, Separation and its discontents, and thought of writing down some observations. Again, this is not a real book review, just some issues.

MacDonald’s main thesis is that the Jews have over the centuries formed an endogamous, practically impenetrable group, which holds anti-Gentile attitudes based on a racial concept. Far from being the victim, this group has, by following an evolutionary group strategy enshrined in Judaism, tried to dominate many fields, usually the well-paid ones, with the final goal of destroying the gentile society and changing it more to its own liking.

That thesis does sound slightly anti-Semitic. I wonder it Kevin MacDonald is in some way associated with anti-Semites? Anyway, I am not. I never meat a single Jew in Finland, though once I saw our single Jewish politician in a shopping center. And that is about the general experience of a Finn. But I looked at polls made by ADL and according to those polls 15% of Finns hold anti-Semitic attitudes. That is odd, as they have no such attitudes, but it was all clarified. You are an anti-Semite if you believe that the Jews can influence the US politics and that they have power in media. I mean, either your understanding of the world is extremely naive or ADL considers you an anti-Semite. Fortunately there are 15%, not all Finns are complete idiots. But I am sure that the rest also know, they just answer what they answer. People know, at least when they get a bit older and check up things.

But let’s return to the book. MacDonald’s theory, which already was presented in the first book, is that Jews and Gentiles have been in economic competition and this is the real source of anti-Semitism. Thus, he presents his analysis of anti-Semitism as a proof of Judaism as an evolutionary group strategy, a purported proof of his theory.

The book also proposes that Jews have by natural selection and eugenic practices developed genetically higher intelligence and certain inherited personality traits that give them an advantage over gentiles.

Finally, there are considerations if the Diaspora Jewish community can survive the present trend of intermarriage. The book makes a weak assertion that the core survives and even strengthens.

I am sure there were other important issues, but I cannot remember. I think the book is worth reading. Though I knew the outline, many details were new to me.

Most of the book describes anti-Semitic and Jewish views of the perceived problems over a long period of time: from the Antique to the modern times. Similar accusations have been presented against Jews in all periods and they lend ample support to the image of Judaism as a closed, endogamous group which holds anti-Gentile opinions and tries to take over the economy in whatever country the group resides.

In slightly earlier times, like 20 years ago, the image of the Jews having had racist attitudes towards non-Jews was controversial, but today there is so much evidence of it that hardly anybody any more even cares to deny the existence of the famous offensive passages of the Talmud and other Jewish religious texts. Indeed, MacDonald starts his first chapter with the fascinating example from the illustrious Maimonides concerning the reasons why not to sell gentiles female animals. Truly, they are the light of nations.

This all we, of course, know by now, at least those know who have studied the topic for some years. I reread for fun some passages of what Martin Luther wrote of the Jews when he was older and wiser. I could understand his meaning much better now after having learned more: he was not any anti-Semite, just mentioning some well-known opinions.

But though I agree with some of MacDonald’s argument, his theory of Judaism as an evolutionary strategy of economic competition I still find gravely mistaken. He does mention many historical situations when the Gentiles and the Jews have been in economic competition, but there are even more cases when there was no competition: the Jews were simply exploiting the common people with usury and other means, protected by the king and nobility. In Eastern Europe no Gentile middle class managed even to develop because of the Jewish dominance in that sector. I would replace MacDonald’s theory with a simpler one where a tightly-knit group just tries to dominate and exploit others after having bribed the elite. And MacDonalds passes the ritual murder charges too easily. They also warrant a study, like a study on what Idra Zuta means at the end by “now all companions drink blood”.

I also discard MacDonald’s racist views concerning genetic advantages of the Jews. MacDonald accepts the superior intelligence as a fact, but I would like a valid proof of this fact. Factors against this fact are numerous. Firstly, admixture of European and Middle Eastern genes should result to a population with intermediate intelligence. Secondly, a smaller absolute brain capacity compared to Northern Europeans speaks of smaller intelligence. Thirdly, eugenic practices for improving intelligence do not fit to a group where practically all females were married and monogamy was prevalent: it means that there was very little selection of males, especially as there still was social help, all couples were expected to have many children and the population was indeed growing very fast. Fourthly, there is no support of any special IQ genes in this group, and especially, there is counterevidence to a claim that some genetic diseases in this group would have heterozygote advantage giving higher intelligence. Fifthly, high intelligence claims were made in the Middle Ages of Sephardim compared to Spanish, but today these groups have equal intelligence. Sixthly, verbal IQ is highly dependent on the group language and cannot be used for comparing groups, while in visual IQ, that can be used across groups, this particular group is inferior. And finally, a small calculation of the rate of new mutations increasing IQ does not support the concept of a fast developed higher intelligence.

Yes, I do know that one can breed new animal races in a much shorter time than 40 generations, which the Ashkenazi Jewish community has had to develop the superior intelligence, but that requires selection and in order to make a new race, you start by mixing animals that already have the properties in their gene pools. I cannot fit this to the Ashkenazi Jewish history. They were admixed (though MacDonald thinks they were not) with Europeans twice. Large number of men never left Judaism, as their Y-DNA would be visible in Polish Y-DNA, but it is not. None of the mechanisms that MacDonald suggests have been in force. But it was good reading this book as it confirmed by earlier guess: the admixture was through Gentile female slaves. A child of a Jewish man and a Gentile slave is a slave and not a Jew, but the woman could be converted and made a concubine, then the children were Jews. As this was strongly forbidden in the 8^th century, it must have been used widely before that time, especially in the early Ashkenazi Jewish community.

What to say about the traits? I also do not believe Jews developed genetic personality traits that are much different of other people. I found a paper where Jews did get a higher score on agency, it means dominance (in the same paper there were contradictory results of their IQ, three tests gave very different scores, a high g should appear in every test, if they have it). They behave in a more dominant, extraverted and agreeable (sic) way, but this I count as culture, not genes. Of course, there are some small genetic differences in personality traits across populations, what I mean is that the goal of trying to dominate others and to destroy and enslave them is not genetically determined. It can be changed. They are not a doomed people forced to be wolfs among sheep because of their genes. I also do not think that the only way to fight this evolutionary group strategy is to adopt a similar group strategy. The truth will win in the end.

Finally, what about the future of this unfortunate group of people? I hope they do assimilate. A hard core will undoubtedly remain, but it can remain living in the past in closed communities, like some Christian sects that live in the old way. If – I say when – this group assimilates, it finally loses the group strategy. I agree with MacDonald that that is the result of assimilation. I only disagree with him thinking that it will happen and it will happen soon. Assimilation, and not Israel or the Holocaust, is the final solution to the Jewish question.

It may even be so, as some Christians believe, that the Jews will convert to Jesus. I do not mean conversion to Christianity, as that will not happen, I mean that at some point Jewish archeologists will establish beyond any doubt that Ezra falsified the original Jewish religion in Persia and that the original one was much closer to the original message of Jesus – not quite the Christianity we know, but not so different in a way. And maybe then the orthodox Jews return to the original faith. It could eventually happen. I have some idea of what the original faith might have been, and it was not conquering the Holy Land by force and enslaving all other people.