268 Chapter 11
for the West,whichmustrankas inferior.Basicallyin comparisonto otherconceivable
societies,the MDCs(more-developedcountries)are implicitlyevaluatedas mediocreat
best—and,at worst,the epitomeof vileness.Suchmulticulturalistsdenythatanynon-
Westerncustomor traditionthat spoliatessomeoneis objectivelywrong.Commensurate-
ly, theydenythata cultureshouldobjectivelyallowanycustomto remainlegalif it
spoliatesno one.Thesemulticulturalistsalsodenythatwhenlife is the standardof hu-
manvalues,scientificrationalityis superiorto superstitionin termsof improvinglife for
everyonein the longhaul.Fromthis trilogy’s comparisonsbetweenrelativelyliberaland
relativelyilliberalgovernmentalinstitutions,we knowthe multiculturalistsare terribly
misguidedon this point.
WhenSumnerintroducedthe conceptof ethnocentrism,though,he boreno intention
of contributingto anti-Western,PC proselytizing.Sumnerpointedout thatnot just West-
erners,but individualsof almosteveryculture,are wontto hailtheirownsocietyas
greaterthanany other—an observationthatacademicmulticulturalistscommonlyover-
lookas theyimputeethnocentrismsolelyto Westerners.^23 Further,Sumnerwarnedhis
fellowprofessorsthat scientificobjectivityrequiredthat one guardagainsthis ownethno-
centrismwhilestudyingaliencultures.Folkwaysinveighedagainstthe notionsthat(1) all
customsobservedin the Westwereinherentlyrationalas a resultof the Westalways
beingright,and (2) that any differencein customsthat othersocietieshavefromthe West
is automaticallya consequenceof thoseotherculturesbeinginherentlyweirdand wrong-
headed.
Folkways’s pointis that,to a largeextent,the customsthat a societypresentlypractices
are the culminationof naturalselection.Suchcustoms,practices,folkways,mores(Sum-
ner coinedthe wordmores, too),traditions,andbeliefseitherthrivedor wentextinct
accordingto whethertheyhelpeda familialclansecureits long-termgeneticlegacy.This
is explainedby the possibilitythat a familialclanwasableto transmit,to the nextgenera-
tion,its genesas a resultof practicingsomecustomthat improvedits chancesfor survival.
As thiscustomaidedin thatclan’s survival,thatclanwould,in turn,passthatsame
customdownto succeedinggenerations,inculcatingan observanceof thatbeneficial
custominto the clan’s youngestmembers.
Andmostof thesecustomsare not inherentlygood;theysimplycontributedto the
clan’s survivalinsofaras theyhelped it adaptto the geographicandenvironmental
circumstancesunderwhichit dweltpriorto the IndustrialRevolution.Thisis the same
theorythatevolutionarypsychologistsE. O. Wilsonand JaredDiamondare inaccurately
credited for originatingin the late 1900s.Yettheseare alsothe sameevolutionary
psychologistswho,deathlyaverseto beingcriticizedas socialDarwinists,pronounced
that theirowntheoriesoweno debtto the writingsof Sumneror Spencer.
Sumneradditionallywarnedhis colleaguesaboutethnocentrismon the groundsthat
he did not wantthemto let theirownculturalbiasesinterferewiththeirobjectivityin
studyingforeigncultures.InFolkwayshe observes,“Specialoccasionfor rulesandpro-
prietyis offeredby eating.... TheBakairiare ashamedto see or to be seeneating.”^24
Sumnerworriedthata Westernresearcherwhonoticedthis oddityaboutthe Bakairi’s
etiquetterulesmightpermithis ownethnocentrismto get the betterof him,chalkingthe
Bakairi’s tabooup to this tribesimplybeingirrationalandprimitive,andinsistingthat
therewas no evolutionaryreasonwhythis taboowouldpersistovermultiplegenerations.
Folkwaysarticulatesthatoncesomeonepusheshis ethnocentrismaside,and studiesother
culturesin an unbiasedfashion,one mayfindthatthe culturemightoncehavebenefited
fromadoptingthatcustomundera specificset of circumstancesfoisteduponit at one
timein history.TheBakairitribe,for instance,dwelledin a preindustrialenvironment
whererampantfoodshortagesmighthavemotivatedindividualsin the samevillageto
squabbleovertheirmeals.Whena manso muchas saw a fellowtribesmeneat something,