The evolution of race - how science debunks racism

[Rambozo]

While critics of theories such as evolution have pointed out that Darwin held racist beliefs, these are merely the products of an outdated, racist day and age, and not at all "scientific".

On the other hand, if we look at actual science, we can see that evolution favors genetic diversity, meaning that populations which transcend the outdated construct of race will be preferable to ones that don't. This is similar to how populations which don't practice incest end up being more genetically fit:

Evolution, diversity, and survival are intrinsically linked. Evolution, driven by natural selection, favors traits that enhance survival and reproduction, leading to the diversity of life we see today. Genetic diversity within populations is crucial for adaptability, allowing them to withstand environmental changes and avoid extinction.
Likewise, Darwin's theory of evolution affirmed that all races share a common human origin, debunking outdated theories which postulated separate origins of races which may have been used to justify racism.
And, using a bit of common sense. If we look at the lowest social levels of the "white race", such as skinhead gang members, we can see that they possess inferior traits such as IQ and higher violent crime rates than well-educated and successful black people:





This likely correlates with how we now know that the biggest genetic variations occur within the "races", rather than between them.

Yes, that's correct. Most human genetic diversity exists within what are commonly called "races," not between them. While humans are often categorized into racial groups based on superficial traits like skin color, these categories don't reflect significant genetic differences. The majority of genetic variation occurs among individuals within these groups, and the genetic differences between groups are relatively small.

 

[ataraxia]

Modern humans are surprisingly alike beneath the skin. For a species that now spans every continent, we carry only a modest amount of genetic diversity compared to many other animals- lower than even a species like emperor penguins, for example.

Scientists think this traces back to one or more bottlenecks in our distant past, when our ancestors’ numbers shrank so dramatically that much of the genetic variation was lost.

The best-known and studied example is from around 70,000 years ago, when things like a convergence of multiple environmental changes and stressors like dramatic climate stress and the the eruption of the Toba supervolcano may have pushed early human populations to the brink.

Youngest Toba eruption - Wikipedia

en.m.wikipedia.org

The result is that, today, any two people from opposite sides of the world are often more genetically similar to each other than even two chimpanzees living in the same forest.

Despite this, it’s good to know our current genetic diversity isn’t dangerously low, like it is in cheetahs- but it’s low enough to stand out among other species, and it helps explain both our shared humanity, and the subtle differences scientists use to trace our migrations and adaptations.

This relative lack of diversity is a double edged sword. On the one hand, it makes us more unified as a species; we’re all close cousins in genetic terms, which may have helped us cooperate and build societies and civilizations on a global scale.

But on the other hand, like all species with such narrow genetic diversity, it leaves us more vulnerable to many risks. A disease that targets a genetic weakness shared by many of us, for example, could spread more easily than in a species with a wider gene pool.

In that sense, our past bottlenecks are still with us today: they can give us a sense of shared identity, but they also remind us how fragile and few the threads of human survival really are.

https://www.ashg.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/genetic-variation-essay.pdf