The thing is, I don't even think you need a Murray-esque argument to make a good case here. It's pretty clear that smarter doesn't necessarily perfectly correl

The thing is, I don't even think you need a Murray-esque argument to make a good case here. It's pretty clear that smarter doesn't necessarily perfectly correlate to civilizational ascendance. All you need to do is make an argument that doesn't literally hinge on the hereditarian hypothesis being incorrect, i.e. an incredibly fragile idea. They just can't help themselves. Also, the infamous "Murray gambit" of being obsequiously philosemitic to the point of raising eyebrows (which just offended all parties) would definitely have a different tenor coming from Jared Diamond.