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I've never quite understood this argument. Why does ethnic homogeny matter?

hood_syntax 9y ago
Cultural bonds tend to be stronger. I don't necessarily buy the arguments that follow from that premise but I do think there's some truth to that statement, especially because ethnic heterogeneity(sp?) tends to go hand in hand with immigration and hence mixing of cultures. I like the diversity of cultures that immigration brings, but some people like feeling as though they are part of a united whole.
- vilmosi 9y ago
  Humans are tribal though, as in maximum 200 people. Everyone else is an "outsider". Everything above that number is the treated the same, regardless of ethnicity, as a foreigner. You can't seriously suggest millions of people think the same because of their genetic markup.
  - hood_syntax 9y ago
    Ethnicity is not genetic. It's a social construct that refers to groups based on shared culture / language / nationality. The genetic similarity comes from reproduction among the population as a whole over a period of time. It's a consequence, not the cause.
    - deleted 9y ago
      [deleted]
  - dragonwriter 9y ago
    > Humans are tribal though, as in maximum 200 people. Everyone else is an "outsider". Everything above that number is the treated the same, regardless of ethnicity, as a foreigner. That's a cute idea, but it doesn't take more than a few minutes of reading the news, or a few hours of first hand observation, to find plenty of examples where people very much do not treat everyone outside their ≤ 200 person tribe “the same, regardless of ethnicity”. > You can't seriously suggest millions of people think the same because of their genetic markup. The grandparent post refers to culture and ethnicity (the latter being an identity of shared culture) not genetics. Culture is essentially shared ritual, values, and historical narrative, and, yes, shared culture is significantly about thinking the same way.
    - vilmosi 9y ago
      >>> That's a cute idea, but it doesn't take more than a few minutes of reading the news, or a few hours of first hand observation, to find plenty of examples where people very much do not treat everyone outside their ≤ 200 person tribe “the same, regardless of ethnicity Um... Yeah, exactly. What's your point? It was a point of gossip to marry someone from the next village. So yeah, strangers were bad. >>> The grandparent post refers to culture and ethnicity (the latter being an identity of shared culture) not genetics. So... Like what is the relationship between a homogenous culture and crime rate again?! You actually think people wouldn't kill themselves because they are from the same culture?
rayiner 9y ago
I’m not saying it does. The parent post raised the issue preemptively.
- tyfon 9y ago
  I raised it because it is very commonly used as an argument against this system because "$ETHNIC_GROUP of people is so bad they can never be recovered". And I don't think it matters, what matters is that all members of the society feels included and a part of it regardless of their origins. But the latter is probably easier to achieve in a homogeneous society and you don't have to deal with xenophobia.
  - deleted 9y ago
    [deleted]

Cultural bonds tend to be stronger. I don't necessarily buy the arguments that follow from that premise but I do think there's some truth to that statement, especially because ethnic heterogeneity(sp?) tends to go hand in hand with immigration and hence mixing of cultures. I like the diversity of cultures that immigration brings, but some people like feeling as though they are part of a united whole.

vilmosi 9y ago
Humans are tribal though, as in maximum 200 people. Everyone else is an "outsider". Everything above that number is the treated the same, regardless of ethnicity, as a foreigner. You can't seriously suggest millions of people think the same because of their genetic markup.
- hood_syntax 9y ago
  Ethnicity is not genetic. It's a social construct that refers to groups based on shared culture / language / nationality. The genetic similarity comes from reproduction among the population as a whole over a period of time. It's a consequence, not the cause.
  - deleted 9y ago
    [deleted]
- dragonwriter 9y ago
  > Humans are tribal though, as in maximum 200 people. Everyone else is an "outsider". Everything above that number is the treated the same, regardless of ethnicity, as a foreigner. That's a cute idea, but it doesn't take more than a few minutes of reading the news, or a few hours of first hand observation, to find plenty of examples where people very much do not treat everyone outside their ≤ 200 person tribe “the same, regardless of ethnicity”. > You can't seriously suggest millions of people think the same because of their genetic markup. The grandparent post refers to culture and ethnicity (the latter being an identity of shared culture) not genetics. Culture is essentially shared ritual, values, and historical narrative, and, yes, shared culture is significantly about thinking the same way.
  - vilmosi 9y ago
    >>> That's a cute idea, but it doesn't take more than a few minutes of reading the news, or a few hours of first hand observation, to find plenty of examples where people very much do not treat everyone outside their ≤ 200 person tribe “the same, regardless of ethnicity Um... Yeah, exactly. What's your point? It was a point of gossip to marry someone from the next village. So yeah, strangers were bad. >>> The grandparent post refers to culture and ethnicity (the latter being an identity of shared culture) not genetics. So... Like what is the relationship between a homogenous culture and crime rate again?! You actually think people wouldn't kill themselves because they are from the same culture?

rayiner 9y ago

I’m not saying it does. The parent post raised the issue preemptively.

tyfon 9y ago
I raised it because it is very commonly used as an argument against this system because "$ETHNIC_GROUP of people is so bad they can never be recovered". And I don't think it matters, what matters is that all members of the society feels included and a part of it regardless of their origins. But the latter is probably easier to achieve in a homogeneous society and you don't have to deal with xenophobia.
- deleted 9y ago
  [deleted]