1. In what ways have Darwinist theories encouraged racist thinking?
Darwinist theories saw that the human race is similar to the animal species, in terms of “the survival of the fittest”: the rising of the superior creatures and eventually inferior others will become extinct (Jeynes, 2011). In Darwin’s observation of other races around the world, he concluded that some races are savage and cannot be civilised. Therefore, through the process of natural selection, the superior white race will survive and other races will struggle as time passes, as they are the weaker human race (Jeynes, 2011). Darwin’s ideas helped emerge social Darwinism; a theory to justify the impact of European colonisation with arguing that all coloured people were considered …show more content…
In addition, these police practices unconsciously or consciously justify discrimination. In the UK Ministry of Justice publication on the Statistics on Race and the Criminal Justice System (2008), it reveals that the black population is disproportionately represented in ‘stop and search’ statistics. In 2008, there were three times more arrests of Black people than of White people (per 1,000 population) (Ministry of Justice, 2008). Thus, ‘stop and search’ is fundamental because the location determines who is criminal, who will be captured, and therefore, who are more likely to be policed in the future. Thus, discrimination may have contributed to the stop and searches in the UK, as the police are targeting the criminals in areas with a higher population of the black community. Those disproportionately stopped and searched by police are those who will constitute the majority of offenders in the criminal justice system (Ministry of Justice, 2008). The racial disparities in ‘stop and search’ police practices perpetuate stereotypes and prejudicial views of black people as criminals. The discrimination is further perpetuated into the criminal justice process, where at court; the blacks may be seen as guilty and punished more severely for their crime than whites. This perpetuation also extends …show more content…
To what extent could it be argued that Australia tried to eliminate its indigenous people?
Drawing from the ideas of Darwin that certain races resemble apes more than humans and cannot be civilised, Herbert Spencer further argued that civilisation can be improved by breeding out the weaker races (Jeynes, 2011). Jeynes (2011) notes that Spencer was a major proponent of social Darwinism who developed the term: “the survival of the fittest”. According to Spencer, for the white race to advance against the other races in future society, is to eliminate the continuation of the weaker races (Jeynes, 2011). The notion of breeding out was embarked in Australia in 1931, with a government policy where half-caste children were to be taken from their Aboriginal families, known as the ‘stolen generation’ (Read, 1981). Discrimination was culturally, individually and institutionally embedded, as the government employed trackers to capture the half-caste children, place them in care homes to be trained to become servants, and ultimately be located with white people (Bell, 2010; Read, 1981). Thus, Australia tried to eliminate its indigenous people by breeding out the inferior Aboriginal race. Through this process of breeding out in eliminating the black and advancing the white, there was ongoing ethnocentrism, justification and self-righteousness of helping, not only the white Australians but for the Aboriginal people (Read, 1981). The system of cheap labour with aborigines, results in internalised
Darwinist theories saw that the human race is similar to the animal species, in terms of “the survival of the fittest”: the rising of the superior creatures and eventually inferior others will become extinct (Jeynes, 2011). In Darwin’s observation of other races around the world, he concluded that some races are savage and cannot be civilised. Therefore, through the process of natural selection, the superior white race will survive and other races will struggle as time passes, as they are the weaker human race (Jeynes, 2011). Darwin’s ideas helped emerge social Darwinism; a theory to justify the impact of European colonisation with arguing that all coloured people were considered …show more content…
In addition, these police practices unconsciously or consciously justify discrimination. In the UK Ministry of Justice publication on the Statistics on Race and the Criminal Justice System (2008), it reveals that the black population is disproportionately represented in ‘stop and search’ statistics. In 2008, there were three times more arrests of Black people than of White people (per 1,000 population) (Ministry of Justice, 2008). Thus, ‘stop and search’ is fundamental because the location determines who is criminal, who will be captured, and therefore, who are more likely to be policed in the future. Thus, discrimination may have contributed to the stop and searches in the UK, as the police are targeting the criminals in areas with a higher population of the black community. Those disproportionately stopped and searched by police are those who will constitute the majority of offenders in the criminal justice system (Ministry of Justice, 2008). The racial disparities in ‘stop and search’ police practices perpetuate stereotypes and prejudicial views of black people as criminals. The discrimination is further perpetuated into the criminal justice process, where at court; the blacks may be seen as guilty and punished more severely for their crime than whites. This perpetuation also extends …show more content…
To what extent could it be argued that Australia tried to eliminate its indigenous people?
Drawing from the ideas of Darwin that certain races resemble apes more than humans and cannot be civilised, Herbert Spencer further argued that civilisation can be improved by breeding out the weaker races (Jeynes, 2011). Jeynes (2011) notes that Spencer was a major proponent of social Darwinism who developed the term: “the survival of the fittest”. According to Spencer, for the white race to advance against the other races in future society, is to eliminate the continuation of the weaker races (Jeynes, 2011). The notion of breeding out was embarked in Australia in 1931, with a government policy where half-caste children were to be taken from their Aboriginal families, known as the ‘stolen generation’ (Read, 1981). Discrimination was culturally, individually and institutionally embedded, as the government employed trackers to capture the half-caste children, place them in care homes to be trained to become servants, and ultimately be located with white people (Bell, 2010; Read, 1981). Thus, Australia tried to eliminate its indigenous people by breeding out the inferior Aboriginal race. Through this process of breeding out in eliminating the black and advancing the white, there was ongoing ethnocentrism, justification and self-righteousness of helping, not only the white Australians but for the Aboriginal people (Read, 1981). The system of cheap labour with aborigines, results in internalised