Citation

Krout MH. Am. J. Sociol. 1931; 37(2): 175-189.

Copyright

(Copyright © 1931, University of Chicago Press)

DOI

10.1086/215659

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

The definitions of the term "race" have been either naive or superficial. The bases of racial classification have been numerous, and agreement as to the meaning of "race" is prominent only by its absence. Brain morphology and pigmentation are the most popular criteria of racial differentiation, but neither of these seems to be dependable. The monogenetic origin of races is commonly held by anthropologists. If this be true, it is migration, regional segregation, and environmental selection that explain anatomical, physiological, and pathological peculiarities of "racial" groups. But, in the last analysis, race differences are defensible only in a certain special sense. For the hybridization of races is an acknowledged fact. Racial differences turn out to be cultural differences, and these-in view of the constant re-adaptation of borrowed culture forms to the specific demands of pre-existing cultures-are anything but pure. Competition and migration, mobility and dominance, segregation and selection may be regarded as stages in the development of culture groups. In the light of this analysis the concept of racial superiority appears to be highly artificial. The real significance of the term "race" lies in its employment as a culture symbol of group conflict and group organization.