Page 98 - The Social Weapon: Darwinism

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At the Genetic Level, There Is No
Racial Difference between Human Beings
R a c i a l D i f f e r e n c e b e t w e e n H u m a n B e i n g s
Particularly in the last ten years, the science of genetics has
revealed that in biological terms, there are no differences between
the races. The great majority of scientists agree on this. For in-
stance, scientists attending the Advancement of Science
Convention in Atlanta issued the following statement:
Race is a social construct derived mainly from perceptions condi-
tioned by events of recorded history, and it has no basic biological
reality. 53
Research has determined that genetic differences between
the races are very small, and that the races cannot be differentiated
between in terms of genes. Scientists researching the subject state
that typically there is a 0.2% genetic difference between any two
people, even within the same group. Features that reveal racial
differences such as skin color, and the shape of the eyes account
only for 6% of this 0.2% variation. On the genetic level that means
54
a 0.012% difference between races —so small as to be irrelevant.
These latest findings are summarized in an article by Natalie
Angier, “Do Races Differ? Not Really, DNA Shows,” in the 22
August 2000 New York Times:
Scientists have long suspected that the racial categories recognized
by society are not reflected on the genetic level. But the more closely
researchers examine the human genome — the complement of ge-
netic material encased in the heart of almost every cell of the body
— the more most of them are convinced that the standard labels
used to distinguish people by “race” have little or no biological
meaning. They say that while it may seem easy to tell at a glance
whether a person is Caucasian, African or Asian, the ease dissolves
when one probes beneath surface characteristics and scans the
genome for DNA hallmarks of “race.” 55

The Social Weapon: Darwinism