“I strongly recommend that every American acquire some basic knowledge of

economics, monetary policy, and the intersection of politics with the economy. No
formal classroom is required; a desire to read and learn will suffice. There are
countless important books to consider, but the following are an excellent starting
point: The Law by Frédéric Bastiat; Economics in One Lesson by Henry Hazlitt; What
has Government Done to our Money? by Murray Rothbard; The Road to Serfdom by
Friedrich Hayek; and Economics for Real People by Gene Callahan.
If you simply read and comprehend these relatively short texts, you will know far
more than most educated people about economics and government. You certainly will
develop a far greater understanding of how supposedly benevolent government
policies destroy prosperity. If you care about the future of this country, arm
yourself with knowledge and fight back against economic ignorance. We disregard
economics and history at our own peril.”

—Ron Paul, Representative from Texas

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WHY RACE MATTERS REVIEW

Race matters because the races differ in average qualities necessary to creating
and maintaining a thriving society. These are intelligence, obedience to the law,
and monogamy.

Everywhere Negroes live they are accurately characterized as being less likely to
be intelligent, more likely to break the law, and less likely to get married and to
stay married to the people with whom they have children.

Because these characteristics are durable geographically and historically, they

indicate genetic causation. Intelligence is fairly stable. Crime and illegitimacy
fluctuate. Nevertheless, when they are low they are lower for whites than blacks.
When they are high they are higher for blacks than whites.

Michael Levin points out, “In 1950 the white illegitimacy rate was 1.7%, and the
black rate 16%.”

In 2012 the white non Hispanic illegitimacy rate was 29.1%. The black rate was
72.3%.

From 1960 to 1980 the black and white crime rates both increased. The black rate
increased more. Professor Levin attributes this to the greater innate inclination
of blacks toward crime, and to the fact that the civil rights movement caused the
criminal justice system to extend to blacks safeguards previously granted only to
whites.

He points out that in 1920 a black mugger would be apprehended and quickly
sentenced to a chain gang. Now punishment is less likely and less severe.

Liberals blame black dysfunction on white racism. Professor Levin asks: if this is
true, why have black rates of crime and illegitimacy increased since 1964, when the
Civil Rights Act was signed and the War on Poverty was inaugurated? Why has black
academic performance not improved, despite much more money spent on black public
education, and expensive programs like Head Start and No Child Left Behind?
Conservatives blame black dysfunction on the welfare system. Professor Levin tends
to agree, but he thinks the real culprit is the black genome.

Professor Levin gives too little attention to the reasons racial differences
evolved. For an explanation of that we should turn to “A Farewell to Alms: A Brief
Economic History of the World, by Gregory Clark,

https://www.amazon.com/gp/review/RF7DRN09TU6IS?ref_=glimp_1rv_cl

“A Troublesome Inheritance: Genes, Race and Human History,” by Nicholas Wade,

https://www.amazon.com/gp/review/RS1CNJ677HVQB?ref_=glimp_1rv_cl

and “The 10,000 Year Explosion: How Civilization Accelerated Human Evolution,” by
Gregory Cochran and Henry Harpending.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/review/R1QW7U2G2GJTXC?ref_=glimp_1rv_cl

Tribes exist when governments are ineffectual or do not exist. In a tribal

environment all men fight in the wars. The best warriors have more than one wife
and consequently more sons who inherit their violent inclinations and aptitudes.
Also, in a tribal environment men are expected to avenge injustices done to them,
their friends, and their relatives.

A young poor ghetto black man who is shot by another young black man he knows often
does not identify the shooter to the police. While he recovers in a hospital he
thinks, “I know who did it. When I get out I will get back at him.“ When he gets
out he kills the man who shot him. The man’s friends kill him. His friends kill
them. So it goes. This is more than the culture of the underclass. It is the
expression of instincts that are functional in a tribal environment.

During most of history in urban civilizations criminals were killed at the scene of
the crime, they died in custody, or they were executed. In some cultures they were
enslaved and worked to death. The few children they had rarely lived to adulthood.
Thus crime genes were removed from the gene pool. This is why races that have
practiced civilization the longest have lower crime rates.

In urban civilizations men who have the intelligence to become merchants,

government officials, scribes, scientists, and so on usually become prosperous.
Consequently more of their children survived and reproduced. This is why races that
have practiced civilization the longest have the highest IQ averages.

Why Race Matters was first published in 1997. It was republished in 2005. Since
then genes have been discovered that influence intelligence and criminal behavior.
If Why Race Matters is published in a new edition, mention should be made of these
genes.

Why Race Matters is written with academic prose that prevents it from being read by
a large population. Professor Levin should have written it with the assistance of a
journalist.

When one presents an argument that many people do not want to accept, the argument
must be easy to follow. It needs to be based on assertions that most people know to
be true. What Professor Levin says in Why Race Matters is said better and with
fewer words in “Race, Evolution, and Behavior: A Life History Perspective,” by J.
Philippe Rushton.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/review/R1FCUU9G2TJRWI?ref_=glimp_1rv_cl
Also, by emphasizing black stupidity, crime, and promiscuity Professor Levin gives
little attention to the fact that many blacks are intelligent, law abiding, and
monogamous.

Think of a decent young black man. He probably attended a black majority public
school where he was ostracized and maybe beaten up for “acting white.”
Nevertheless, he did the best he could academically, stayed out of trouble, and
graduated from high school. Even so, wherever he goes whites who do not know him
assume that he is dangerous and inferior.

Once I read a letter to the editor of a newspaper written by such a youth. He

wrote:

“When I get on a bus women hold their purses more tightly. Men pick up their
briefcases and put them on their laps. I always have a seat to myself even though I
do not smell badly. I see the fear in their eyes. it is heartbreaking.”

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