An Initial Assessment of “Market-Dominant Minorities” and Inter-group Conflict

Abstract

Obtaining and maintaining control over limited resources are of primary importance for group survival. Group cohesion and abilities, such as self-discipline, work ethic, ambition and intelligence, are crucial for successful inter-group competition, especially upon initial migration into an area in which that group is vastly outnumbered. Although wealth and status may at first lie exclusively within the domain of the indigenous majority, these may shift over time to the numerically inferior but more cohesive and able group. Shifts of wealth and status from the majority to the minority, especially between distinct ethnic and racial groups, have frequently sparked inter-group conflict. Economic disparity (Gini index) and, interestingly, degree of political freedom (index of democracy) positively correlate with violence. Efforts to equalize social-economic disparities in multicultural states that do not consider group differences in innate abilities will fail. Key Words: Intelligence; IQ; In-group cooperation; Out-group competition; Socio-economic status (SES); Interracial conflict. A dual-code stricture has been observed in humans that may in part explain group survival. During peace-time, tribal members are forbidden to kill each other, but during they are encouraged (even rewarded) to inflict maximum suffering on an opposing, competing tribe (Hart, 2007; Sumner, 1906). The presence of in-group cohesion and out-group hostility is common in primates, including our closes relatives, the chimpanzees (Goodall, 2000). Prior to the rise of nations, conflict between groups, consisting of closely related individuals, occurred over control for food, water, mates and other resources. Large-scale organized violence such as civil war and rioting could also be viewed in context of modern in-group cooperation and inter-group competition (Henderson, 2006). The presence of these behaviors across human groups and throughout history, including pre-modern history as implied by chimpanzee behavior, suggests a genetic origin. Modern transportation systems have facilitated global cross-border migration, such that groups can rapidly travel from resource poor to resource rich areas. In general, high socioeconomic status (SES) groups from poor countries travel to wealthy countries, establishing alien groups that compete with the indigenous majority (Feliciano, 2005). High SES groups have also emigrated to underdeveloped countries. Competition between a high-status minority group and a low-status majority has led to anti-minority resentment, escalating to violence (Chua, 2004). Intergroup violence have been usually attributed to cultural misunderstanding, racism and poverty. However, intergroup conflict could also be understood by analyzing group socio-biological differences. Once the socio-biological differences are understood, reasonable solutions to intergroup conflict can be proposed. Intelligence One key function of the general mental capacity called intelligence is the formulation of solutions to novel problems (Gottfredson et al., 1994; Kanazawa, 2004). Increasing levels of intelligence enhance individual and group survival in increasingly complex environments. For example, a low or moderate level of intelligence would be adequate for scavenging animal carcasses and gathering plants for food in the tropics, in which supply is more or less consistent. By contrast, climates with significant temperature and moisture fluctuations and fewer food options would require a higher level of intelligence in order to recognize seasonal variations, determine the optimal season to acquire enough food and the best method of storage. Since large animals would be the main food source in cold regions, efficient weapons for killing large animals would be needed. A group rather than an individual would be more efficient in hunting large animals, so in order to coordinate the hunt, a method of communication would be needed. …