THE BELL CURVE AND POLITICS
The Bell Curve sparked a lot of debate mainly because it talks about race, which is a sensitive subject in America. There is a long-standing discomfort among white Americans about race, especially among intellectuals, and this has turned into an intense sensitivity. As a result, many people misunderstood what the book actually says about race. The authors thought their findings would be better received by the political left, as they argued that intelligence is shaped by both genetics and environment and that this should lead to a fairer society. Instead, the book was seen by many as supporting a right-wing agenda, which is linked to the authors' known political views.
The negative reaction also comes from the book's acceptance of the idea that people differ in ways that matter, especially regarding intelligence, and that these differences are not easily changed by public policy. Critics who believe that social problems have only external causes and that government can solve these problems feel threatened by the ideas in The Bell Curve. The authors think that once the initial outrage settles down, the central ideas of their book will still hold true. They encourage readers to carefully compare criticisms to the actual content of the book to better understand the arguments made.
The Bell Curve sparked a lot of debate mainly because it talks about race, which is a sensitive subject in America. There is a long-standing discomfort among white Americans about race, especially among intellectuals, and this has turned into an intense sensitivity. As a result, many people misunderstood what the book actually says about race. The authors thought their findings would be better received by the political left, as they argued that intelligence is shaped by both genetics and environment and that this should lead to a fairer society. Instead, the book was seen by many as supporting a right-wing agenda, which is linked to the authors' known political views.
The negative reaction also comes from the book's acceptance of the idea that people differ in ways that matter, especially regarding intelligence, and that these differences are not easily changed by public policy. Critics who believe that social problems have only external causes and that government can solve these problems feel threatened by the ideas in The Bell Curve. The authors think that once the initial outrage settles down, the central ideas of their book will still hold true. They encourage readers to carefully compare criticisms to the actual content of the book to better understand the arguments made.