Welfare, Ethnicity and Altruism; New Data and Evolutionary Theory

by Frank K. Salter

Welfare, Ethnicity, and Altruism applies the controversial theory of 'Ethnic Nepotism', first formulated by Irenaus Eibl-Eibesfeldt and Pierre van den Berghe, to the modern welfare state (both are authors in this volume). This theory states that ethnic groups resemble large families whose members are prone to cooperate due to 'kin altruism'. Recent empirical findings in economics and political science offer confirmatory evidence. The book presents two separate studies that compare welfare expenditures around the world, both indicating that the more ethnically mixed a population becomes, the greater is its resistance to redistributive policies. These results point to profound inconsistencies within ideologies of both left and right regarding ethnicity.

Hardcover

First published February 1, 2004

About the author

Frank Kemp Salter is an Australian academic and researcher at the former Max Planck Institute for Behavioral Physiology, Andechs, Germany, best known for his writings on ethnicity and ethnic interests. He is a political ethologist, studying political phenomena using the methods and theories of behavioral biology in addition to conventional methods. Those phenomena include hierarchy (Emotions in Command, 1995), indoctrination (Ethnic Conflict and Indoctrination, 1998, edited with I. Eibl-Eibesfeldt), ethnic altruism and conflict (Welfare, Ethnicity and Altruism, 2002, Risky Transactions: Trust, Kinship and Ethnicity, 2004 ), and genetic interests (On Genetic Interests: Family, Ethnicity, and Humanity in an Age of Mass Migration, 2003).

Reviews

[Steven · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very good edited book produced without caving to the inclusion of cringe academics. Not a lot of surprises, but specificity that's useful.