Critique of "What Makes Western Culture Unique"

Critique of What Makes Western Culture Unique. This essay "What Makes Western Culture Unique," was written by Professor Kevin MacDonald.

Sorry for the procrastination. I was also very busy!

Professor Kevin MacDonald teaches Psychology at California State University. Although I disagree with him, on a "grand Jewish conspiracy to control Western Culture," he does have great experience and some merit for praise.

He states Western Culture is unique. This, I agree with. His reasons (typed verbatim) therefore are:
1. the Catholic Church and Christianity [Blogger's note:I agree, Europeans and near Easterners (white Middle Easterners (Semites)) uphold Christianity in a manner largely unpracticed by the other races.]
2. A tendency to monogamy [Bloggers note: especially in relation to non-Whites of non-Northern Asian/Canadian descent]
3. A tendency toward simple family structure based on the nuclear family. [Yes, this is a relatively unique Western characteristic, as non-Whites have very high illegitimacy rates in Western countries, while Europe's have tried to stick to the family model, with much better success. However, Northern Asians also well-known for at least maintaining a low illegitimacy rate outside of China. Monogamy and relative lack of illegitimacy are still Western characteristics which make it unique.]
4. A greater tendency for marriage to be compassionate and based on mutual affection of the partners. [I would say this is true, although I don't have any scientific (empirical) facts to support it. However, I do believe White males are usually more likely to marry out of personal affection than out of social status. On the other hand, many non-White males love to show off White (sexual) mates.]
5. A de-emphasis on extended kinship relationships and its correlative, a relative lack of ethnocentrism. [Whites do get ethnocentric, with the right stimulus. However, this is very true in relative terms. Almost only Whites can be fully racial guilt-tripped (with the only possible exception being Northern Asians, but they haven't been tested yet). In relative terms, Whites ignore racial interests. Even in times of Radical White Racism, as in the Jim Crow South, Whites still showed compassion, which would not have been significantly present, had the racial dominance been reversed.]
6. A tendency toward individualism and all of its implications: individual rights against the state, representative government, moral universalism, and science. [This is very likely true, as Whites continue to support democratic-republican principles as no other major groups do outside of America. Whites are also super-empathetic, hence their massive support for protecting non-White and even animal groups. Ironically, Environmental and Animals Rights groups are (generally) proportionately "more White" than conservative pro-life groups!

Whites are also very individualistic and more resistant to communism and excessive collectivism.]

I agree with the influence of the Christian Church. However, I also believe the Jewish Church is also a successful influence and strong characteristic of the Jewish people.

I also agree with him on monogamy and most of the rest of the essay. However, I don't fully agree on the differences between Europeans and Jews (& other Semites). There are technically differences between (non-Southern) Europeans and Jews. However, I find them exaggerated, as he listed them. Before I list examples, it should noted that Jewish behavior is more like (non-Southern) Europeans, than many Southern European groups (probably due to Arab and Black admixture?)

With evolutionary history, it is true that Middle Easterners had a relatively larger herding business, and Europeans relied more hunter-gathering. However, Israel's climate most resembled Southern Europe, and required a level of hunter-gathering, even a few thousand years ago. The Near East was also affected by the Ice Age.

On family systems, I do agree, Jews tend to better associate more with extended families and ethnic communities, just as the Greeks and Italians do, as well. They claim it's culture. It probably is, but I do think Professor MacDonald has a point here.

I don't think the Jews are particularly patriarchal; they actually have leading activists for women's rights. Although I will concede they may be slightly more so, in normal times (with psychological bias absent), they resemble White Gentiles much more than they resemble non-Whites in this area of activism, as they do in most every other field (of behavioral areas) under
study.

I also find the complete omission of monogamy under the "Jewish" category very interesting, as polygamy was hardly practiced by the Jews, outside of royalty, after their formation as an official ethnic group (following Jacob and his children). Other Semitic groups appeared to end polygamy outside of royalty, when their settlements were firmly established.

The practice of polygamy in Islam is an Arabic tradition, not a White Semitic one. Judaism is much less pro-polygamy, than say, unreformed Mormonism.

I also think, what's keeping the Jewish intermarriage rate at around 50% and not higher is culture and religion. But if the Jews are a completely different race from Whites, than their racial out-marriage is higher than ours.

I also disagree on marriage psychology, although he is right to a slight extent. White Gentile families practiced arranged marriage for family wealth and prestige, at times. And Jews likely married for love (as opposed to financially arranged), on a similar level to probably Southern Europeans and White Turks. This has a grain of truth in terms of culture, comparing Israel to deep northern climates. However, I think even the cultural aspect, making even deep Southern Europeans look 'black and white' more 'love-based' and less ethnocentric (than Jews) is exaggerated.

I also find the idea that Jews are particularly patriarchal, laughable. Jews are proportionately, more liberal than even White Gentiles, and support women's right & feminism. Some dismiss the Jews as "just another non-White group." However, the Jews (who are White) have leading women with White Gentiles, in disproportionate numbers. Jewish men also much more resemble European men than they do, Hispanic and Black men, in treatment and attitude toward women.

Jews are not listed as individualistic, but collectivist. I think they would be the latter, in the Soviet sense, for cultural reasons and persecution. Judaism is in between, supporting individual responsibility and support for the religious community. The same applies to Christianity. Maybe he was referring to pre-Christian European culture. If so, I don't know much thereabout. However, I still think Whites (both Gentile and Jewish) are more individualistic and republican than non-White groups.

The Jews are listed as Hyper-ethnocentric and Hyper-xenophobic. I strongly disagree with this assessment, as the Jews tend to be leading liberals. The state of Israel is also being very kind, in its reaction, to Palestinians. It deals with terrorist attacks on civilian population centers on a regular basis; yet, the Jews do whatever they can, to prevent Palestinian casualties. I find the idea that Jews are particularly ethnocentric and xenophobic silly and as a classic exaggeration. The Jews are overwhelmingly non-ethnocentric!

I will agree, Jews are slightly more collectivist, with their community. However, that is for cultural reasons. They promote culture, but they are actually poor in recognizing their genetic nation and supernation.

I also find it hard to understand how Jews "oppose reason and science, whilst supporting dogmatism and submission," when they make such a disproportionate share of Nobel Prize winners and inventors!

http://www.jinfo.org/Nobel_Prizes.html

The Jews promote moral universalism, with Judaism and behavior. They do not support just "What is good for the Jews?" Most are genuinely liberal and believe in the protection of all human life. They are genetically very similar to Europeans.

"On the other hand, group strategies deriving from collectivist cultures, such as Judaism, are immune to such a maneuver because kinship and group ties come first. Morality is particularistic—whatever is good for the group. There is no tradition of altruistic punishment because the evolutionary history of these groups centers around cooperation of close kin, not strangers."

Genetically, Jews are very similar to Europeans. Liberal Jews play the game of "altruistic punishment," themselves. They are under the same pressures as White Gentiles are; racist Jews get censured by other Jews for racial slurs against non-whites.

Culturally speaking, Judaism did promote community involvement. However, it did provide universal moralism, and eventually brought in converts. The Jewish tribe was slightly ethnocentric, but in the same sense that Celtic, Nordic, and Germanic tribes were. They had a very similar system. And Judaism is a more advanced religion and universally accepting than ancient paganism.

I think the best strategy is to appreciate what makes Western Culture unique, as he stated. People of Jewish descent do have some of the differences as he stated, to a minimal extent. However, I believe Jews are a part of Western Culture, especially when compared to (Brown)
Arabs, Blacks, Brown Asians, and Brown Hispanics. If Jews have the alleged differences between White Gentiles and Jews; and they are as to be viewed as, as big as claimed, than I would be most interested to see the categories for Black Africans.

There is a cultural difference and a smaller genetic difference. However, I think they are exaggerated. A major issue is empathy and higher levels of thinking. Both White Gentiles and Jews hold this in disproportionate degrees!

I also see the conspiracy theory of "Jews plotting to destroy Western Culture" as absurd and even inappropriate for an academic essay, especially for a scholar of Mr. MacDonald's skill level and profession.

Most of the rest of the WMWCU Essay is well done. Western Culture is unique and worth preserving. Let's not neglect and lose the culture of our ancestors!

The Essay of What Makes Western Culture Unique can be accessed with this hyperlink:

http://www.kevinmacdonald.net/West-TOQ.htm