Don't mention it: race and crime. (American Survey)

Economist (US), The, September, 1992

A University of Maryland conference on the genetics of criminal behavior set for Oct 1992 has been indefinitely postponed, due to opposition from those who see the proceedings as potentially racist. Critics of the postponement claim research into possible links between crime and race should not be censored.

FOR a multi-ethnic society dedicated to the notion of equality, the idea that there might be differences between the abilities and aptitudes of different racial groups remains the great taboo. Few Americans--outside fringe racist groups--care to discuss why science classes at top universities fill up with Asians or sports teams with blacks. Social explanations for the differences in achievements of racial groups are acceptable; genetic ones are not. Academics who...

Read the rest of this article with a Free Trial at HighBeam Research.

Premium Content Partnership | HighBeam Research provides an in-depth online archive library of reference works.