The Bell Curve, by Richard J. Herrnstein and Charles Murray

I have not read The Bell Curve. Quite honestly, I find it depressing. Nevertheless, I have read quite a bit about it. The arguments against it are so flimsy and emotional, that I suspect that the book is true. The basic argument of The Bell Curve is that intelligence is of primary importance in determining success in life, that intelligence can be accurately measured by an IQ test, that intelligence is primarily determined by genes, and that some population groups have higher average intelligence than others.

The implications of The Bell Curve are that a certain amount of economic inequality is inevitable, and that beyond a certain point efforts to reduce economic inequality will also reduce economic growth and technical innovation.

The hostility many liberals have for this book, and for anyone who admits agreement with it is disturbing to me. Since the publication of The Bell Curve in 1994, over a half million copies have sold in hardback. It is easy for me to suspect that many liberals and radicals wish they could have prevented this book from being published.

 

being successful is about who you know, not what you know - hence the obsession of the lower middle classes to funnel their kids into the sausage factories of the private school system. the contacts you make there are invaluable, it really is a matter of life and death.

i mean how did a fool like tony blair ever get to be prime minister? all of these guys in the government know each other from the private school system. few if any came through the education system for the peasants in britain and if they did they didn't hang around that long.

what is the result of this supposed bell curve then? the ineveitable rise of the ubermenschen who have created the present times? this theory is full of holes.