--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Such racist theories, prominent and…" description: "\"“Such racist theories, prominent and respectable for many decades, have become anathema among scientists and politicians alike. People continue to cond..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/07f/yuval-noah-harari-100_different-cultures_such-racist-theories-prominent-and-respe_2276114.jpg" --- # Such racist theories, prominent and respectable for many… ![“Such racist theories, prominent and respectable for many decades, have become anathema among scientists and politicians alike. People continue to conduct a heroic struggle against racism without noticing that the battlefront has shifted, and that the place of racism in imperial ideology has now…” quote by Yuval Noah Harari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/07f/yuval-noah-harari-100_different-cultures_such-racist-theories-prominent-and-respe_2276114.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/07f/yuval-noah-harari-100_different-cultures_such-racist-theories-prominent-and-respe_2276114.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/07f/yuval-noah-harari-100_different-cultures_such-racist-theories-prominent-and-respe_2276114.jpg) > ““Such racist theories, prominent and respectable for many decades, have become anathema among scientists and politicians alike. People continue to conduct a heroic struggle against racism without noticing that the battlefront has shifted, and that the place of racism in imperial ideology has now been replaced by ‘culturism’. There is no such word, but it’s about time we coined it. Among today’s elites, assertions about the contrasting merits of diverse human groups are almost always couched in terms of historical differences between cultures rather than biological differences between races. We no longer say, ‘It’s in their blood.’ We say, ‘It’s in their culture.’ Thus European right-wing parties which oppose Muslim immigration usually take care to avoid racial terminology. Marine le Pen’s speechwriters would have been shown the door on the spot had they suggested that the leader of France’s Front National party go on television to declare that, ‘We don’t want those inferior Semites to dilute our Aryan blood and spoil our Aryan civilisation.’ Instead, the French Front National, the Dutch Party for Freedom, the Alliance for the Future of Austria and their like tend to argue that Western culture, as it has evolved in Europe, is characterised by democratic values, tolerance and gender equality, whereas Muslim culture, which evolved in the Middle East, is characterised by hierarchical politics, fanaticism and misogyny. Since the two cultures are so different, and since many Muslim immigrants are unwilling (and perhaps unable) to adopt Western values, they should not be allowed to enter, lest they foment internal conflicts and corrode European democracy and liberalism. Such culturist arguments are fed by scientific studies in the humanities and social sciences that highlight the so-called clash of civilisations and the fundamental differences between different cultures. Not all historians and anthropologists accept these theories or support their political usages. But whereas biologists today have an easy time disavowing racism, simply explaining that the biological differences between present-day human populations are trivial, it is harder for historians and anthropologists to disavow culturism. After all, if the differences between human cultures are trivial, why should we pay historians and anthropologists to study them?”” [Yuval Noah Harari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yuval-noah-harari/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The quote argues that racism has morphed into “culturism,” where cultural differences replace biological race as a justification for exclusion, especially in European right‑wing politics. **In simple terms:** Racism now hides behind cultural arguments. Key Takeaway Recognize and challenge hidden cultural bias. Themes racism politics identity culture immigration Mood critical analytical Type philosophical political When to use this quote - policy debates - immigration discussions - media analysis - academic critique Key Concepts cultural essentialism political rhetoric social identity theory Questions to Reflect On - How do cultural arguments differ from overt racism? - Can policies address bias without stereotyping cultures? A Different Perspective It may oversimplify complex social dynamics and ignore intra‑cultural diversity. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Cultures Historians](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cultures-historians-5294051/) [Culturist Arguments](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/culturist-arguments-942868/) [Different cultures](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/different-cultures/) [Gender equality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/gender-equality/) [History](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/history/) [Ideology](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ideology/) [Imperial Ideology](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/imperial-ideology-5294050/) [Middle east](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/middle-east/) [Politics](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/politics/) [Racism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/racism/) [Racist Theories](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/racist-theories-2628711/) [Science](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/science/) [Western culture](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/western-culture/) ## Related quotes > [“Thus European right-wing parties which oppose Muslim immigration usually take care to avoid racial terminology. Marine Le Pen’s speechwriters would have been shown the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yuval-noah-harari/thus-european-right-wing-parties-which-oppose-muslim-immigration/) [Yuval Noah Harari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yuval-noah-harari/) > [“We no longer say, ‘It’s in their blood.’ We say, ‘It’s in their culture.’ Thus European right-wing parties which oppose Muslim immigration usually take…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yuval-noah-harari/we-no-longer-say-it-s-in-their-blood-we-say-it-s-in-their-culture/) [Yuval Noah Harari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yuval-noah-harari/) > [“After fleeing Nazi-occupied Poland, Nobel laureate Isaac Bashevis Singer compared species bias to the “most extreme racist theories.” Singer argued that animal rights was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-safran-foer/after-fleeing-nazi-occupied-poland-nobel-laureate-isaac-bashevis/) [Jonathan Safran Foer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-safran-foer/) > [As often as Herman had witnessed the slaughter of animals and fish, he always had the same thought: in their behaviour towards creatures, all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaac-bashevis-singer/as-often-as-herman-had-witnessed-the-slaughter-of-animals-and-fish-he/) [Isaac Bashevis Singer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaac-bashevis-singer/) > [When it comes to silencing women, Western culture has had thousands of years of practice.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-beard/when-it-comes-to-silencing-women-western-culture-has-had-thousands-of/) [Mary Beard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-beard/) > [We, including many Christians, read the Bible through "eyes" conditioned by, and even accommodated to, modern Western culture plus the influences of messages and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-e-olson/we-including-many-christians-read-the-bible-through-eyes-conditioned/) [Roger E. Olson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-e-olson/) > [“Art—real art—connects artists, and their art, and those who experience their art, to the metaphysical background of the world, to the imaginal world that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-harrod-buhner/art-real-art-connects-artists-and-their-art-and-those-who-experience/) [Stephen Harrod Buhner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-harrod-buhner/) > [A lot happened in Vancouver. It was my first Western experience. I learned English, which is my second language. I became very acquainted with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jason-wu/a-lot-happened-in-vancouver-it-was-my-first-western-experience-i/) [Jason Wu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jason-wu/) > [In a lot of Western science fiction, you need some form of conflict, whether it's aliens or robots. I think in Western culture, being…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cynthia-breazeal/in-a-lot-of-western-science-fiction-you-need-some-form-of-conflict/) [Cynthia Breazeal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cynthia-breazeal/) > [“The expansionary dynamic of Western culture has been the root, the denominating constant, of modern history. The grandeur of Western liberalism, its material abundance,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-oglesby/the-expansionary-dynamic-of-western-culture-has-been-the-root-the/) [Carl Oglesby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-oglesby/) > [“secular, pluralistic, Western culture? There are several other “pressure points” at which our culture in the West is vulnerable to challenge. Western culture longs…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-keller/secular-pluralistic-western-culture-there-are-several-other-pressure/) [Timothy Keller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-keller/) > [“In Western tradition, white is beautiful because it is the colour of virtue. This remarkable equation relates to a particular definition of goodness. All…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dyer/in-western-tradition-white-is-beautiful-because-it-is-the-colour-of/) [Richard Dyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dyer/) > [It's incredible being a woman. I was, of course, fortunate to have an Irish mother who is an empowered woman. She comes from the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amala-akkineni/it-s-incredible-being-a-woman-i-was-of-course-fortunate-to-have-an/) [Amala Akkineni](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amala-akkineni/) > [ So he \[Shoko Asahara\] was insane but managed to convince a couple thousand people that he was enlightened. Western culture, which Japan is now… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brad-warner/so-he-shoko-asahara-was-insane-but-managed-to-convince-a-couple/) [Brad Warner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brad-warner/) > [Western culture is what keeps women and gays safe.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/milo-yiannopoulos/western-culture-is-what-keeps-women-and-gays-safe/) [Milo Yiannopoulos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/milo-yiannopoulos/) ## More by Yuval Noah Harari > [“For similar reasons, archaic humans did not initiate any revolutions. As far as we can tell, changes in social patterns, the invention of new…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yuval-noah-harari/for-similar-reasons-archaic-humans-did-not-initiate-any-revolutions/) [Yuval Noah Harari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yuval-noah-harari/) > [“Today the main source of wealth is knowledge. And whereas you can conquer oil fields through war, you cannot acquire knowledge that way.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yuval-noah-harari/today-the-main-source-of-wealth-is-knowledge-and-whereas-you-can/) [Yuval Noah Harari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yuval-noah-harari/) > [“How do you cause people to believe in an imagined order such as Christianity, democracy or capitalism? First, you never admit that the order…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yuval-noah-harari/how-do-you-cause-people-to-believe-in-an-imagined-order-such-as/) [Yuval Noah Harari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yuval-noah-harari/) > [I think the basic thing that happened is we have lost our story. Humans think in stories, and we try to make sense of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yuval-noah-harari/i-think-the-basic-thing-that-happened-is-we-have-lost-our-story/) [Yuval Noah Harari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yuval-noah-harari/) > [“Whereas chimpanzees spend five hours a day chewing raw food, a single hour suffices for people eating cooked food. The advent of cooking enabled…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yuval-noah-harari/whereas-chimpanzees-spend-five-hours-a-day-chewing-raw-food-a-single/) [Yuval Noah Harari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yuval-noah-harari/) > [“the Chinese air-purification market is booming.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yuval-noah-harari/the-chinese-air-purification-market-is-booming/) [Yuval Noah Harari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yuval-noah-harari/) > [“Whereas liberalism merged with the milder versions of nationalism to protect the unique experiences of each human community, evolutionary humanists such as Hitler identified…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yuval-noah-harari/whereas-liberalism-merged-with-the-milder-versions-of-nationalism-to/) [Yuval Noah Harari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yuval-noah-harari/) > [“Corporations, money and nations exist only in our imagination. We invented them to serve us; why do we find ourselves sacrificing our lives in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yuval-noah-harari/corporations-money-and-nations-exist-only-in-our-imagination-we/) [Yuval Noah Harari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yuval-noah-harari/) > [“Small children in affluent societies often dislike showering, and it takes them years of education and parental discipline to adopt this supposedly attractive custom.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yuval-noah-harari/small-children-in-affluent-societies-often-dislike-showering-and-it/) [Yuval Noah Harari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yuval-noah-harari/) > [“Ever more scholars see cultures as a kind of mental infection or parasite, with humans as its unwitting host. Organic parasites, such as viruses,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yuval-noah-harari/ever-more-scholars-see-cultures-as-a-kind-of-mental-infection-or/) [Yuval Noah Harari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yuval-noah-harari/) > [“Soviet Communism was a fanatical and missionary religion. A devout Communist could not be a Christian or a Buddhist, and was expected to spread…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yuval-noah-harari/soviet-communism-was-a-fanatical-and-missionary-religion-a-devout/) [Yuval Noah Harari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yuval-noah-harari/) > [“Whereas religion asks us to believe in something, money asks us to believe that other people believe in something”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yuval-noah-harari/whereas-religion-asks-us-to-believe-in-something-money-asks-us-to/) [Yuval Noah Harari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yuval-noah-harari/) > [“Terrorists are like a fly that tries to destroy a china shop. The fly is so weak that it cannot budge even a single…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yuval-noah-harari/terrorists-are-like-a-fly-that-tries-to-destroy-a-china-shop-the-fly/) [Yuval Noah Harari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yuval-noah-harari/) > [“Yet what happens if the greedy shoemaker increases his profits by paying employees less and increasing their work hours? The standard answer is that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yuval-noah-harari/yet-what-happens-if-the-greedy-shoemaker-increases-his-profits-by/) [Yuval Noah Harari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yuval-noah-harari/) > [“A natural order is a stable order. There is no chance that gravity will cease to function tomorrow, even if people stop believing in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yuval-noah-harari/a-natural-order-is-a-stable-order-there-is-no-chance-that-gravity/) [Yuval Noah Harari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yuval-noah-harari/) [Explore all 1,200 Yuval Noah Harari quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yuval-noah-harari/) ## More Different cultures quotes > [LEGO is universal. So many people enjoy it, from all different walks of life, all different ages, all different cultures. When I was in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathan-sawaya/lego-is-universal-so-many-people-enjoy-it-from-all-different-walks-of/) [Nathan Sawaya](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathan-sawaya/) > [I was playing surf music with my band when a girlfriend of mine who had come from Los Angeles took me to a James…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-b-schmit/i-was-playing-surf-music-with-my-band-when-a-girlfriend-of-mine-who/) [Timothy B. Schmit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-b-schmit/) > [We West Indian cricketers are always proud to play for the West Indies and we know we are made up of different islands and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-lara/we-west-indian-cricketers-are-always-proud-to-play-for-the-west/) [Brian Lara](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-lara/) > [I wasn't paid a dime for my track career. But participating in the Olympics gave me the opportunity to learn about different cultures; it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wyomia-tyus/i-wasn-t-paid-a-dime-for-my-track-career-but-participating-in-the/) [Wyomia Tyus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wyomia-tyus/) > [I've always enjoyed traveling and having experience with different cultures and different people. But it's also a wonderful thing to be able to benefit…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurel-clark/i-ve-always-enjoyed-traveling-and-having-experience-with-different/) [Laurel Clark](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurel-clark/) > [“Latino history is like a river dividing the United States and Mexico. It is shared by several different cultures and called by many different…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ilan-stavans/latino-history-is-like-a-river-dividing-the-united-states-and-mexico/) [Ilan Stavans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ilan-stavans/) > [My parents put me in the water very early, and also had me skiing at a very early age. They put me on skis…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benoit-lecomte/my-parents-put-me-in-the-water-very-early-and-also-had-me-skiing-at-a/) [Benoit Lecomte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benoit-lecomte/) > [It's useful to be born in a different culture because you see things that are not obvious. I come from France. In France, there…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francoise-mouly/it-s-useful-to-be-born-in-a-different-culture-because-you-see-things/) [Francoise Mouly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francoise-mouly/) > [I like to travel, man. I been to Europe - you know, Spain. Dominican, Aruba, Costa Rica. Just to learn about different cultures.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/manny-ramirez/i-like-to-travel-man-i-been-to-europe-you-know-spain-dominican-aruba/) [Manny Ramirez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/manny-ramirez/) > [There is the philosophy embedded in the culture we are living. It is quite clear for example that Arabs have a different culture than…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tariq-ramadan/there-is-the-philosophy-embedded-in-the-culture-we-are-living-it-is/) [Tariq Ramadan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tariq-ramadan/) > [ Wisdom and white hair might not be as valued \[in our society\] as in different cultures. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karla-souza/wisdom-and-white-hair-might-not-be-as-valued-in-our-society-as-in/) [Karla Souza](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karla-souza/) > [The role of globalization is to homogenize all cultures, and to turn them into commodified markets, and therefore, to make them easier for global…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerry-mander/the-role-of-globalization-is-to-homogenize-all-cultures-and-to-turn/) [Jerry Mander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerry-mander/) > [In a world darkened by ethnic conflicts that tear nations apart, Canada stands as a model of how people of different cultures can live…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-clinton/in-a-world-darkened-by-ethnic-conflicts-that-tear-nations-apart/) [Bill Clinton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-clinton/) > [“We talk about pluralism, multi-culturalism and tolerance. But I hope we are moving toward a time when we don't just "tolerate" people from different…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-shelby/we-talk-about-pluralism-multi-culturalism-and-tolerance-but-i-hope-we/) [Anne Shelby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-shelby/) > [“The anthropologist Margaret Mead concluded in 1948, after observing seven different ethnic groups in the Pacific Islands, that different cultures made different forms of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/naomi-wolf/the-anthropologist-margaret-mead-concluded-in-1948-after-observing/) [Naomi Wolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/naomi-wolf/) [Browse all 358 Different cultures quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/different-cultures/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Such racist theories, prominent and respectable for many decades, have become anathema among scientists and politicians alike. People continue to conduct a heroic struggle against racism without noticing that the battlefront has shifted, and that the place of racism in imperial ideology has now been replaced by ‘culturism’. There is no such word, but it’s about time we coined it. Among today’s elites, assertions about the contrasting merits of diverse human groups are almost always couched in terms of historical differences between cultures rather than biological differences between races. We no longer say, ‘It’s in their blood.’ We say, ‘It’s in their culture.’ Thus European right-wing parties which oppose Muslim immigration usually take care to avoid racial terminology. Marine le Pen’s speechwriters would have been shown the door on the spot had they suggested that the leader of France’s Front National party go on television to declare that, ‘We don’t want those inferior Semites to dilute our Aryan blood and spoil our Aryan civilisation.’ Instead, the French Front National, the Dutch Party for Freedom, the Alliance for the Future of Austria and their like tend to argue that Western culture, as it has evolved in Europe, is characterised by democratic values, tolerance and gender equality, whereas Muslim culture, which evolved in the Middle East, is characterised by hierarchical politics, fanaticism and misogyny. Since the two cultures are so different, and since many Muslim immigrants are unwilling (and perhaps unable) to adopt Western values, they should not be allowed to enter, lest they foment internal conflicts and corrode European democracy and liberalism. Such culturist arguments are fed by scientific studies in the humanities and social sciences that highlight the so-called clash of civilisations and the fundamental differences between different cultures. Not all historians and anthropologists accept these theories or support their political usages. But whereas biologists today have an easy time disavowing racism, simply explaining that the biological differences between present-day human populations are trivial, it is harder for historians and anthropologists to disavow culturism. After all, if the differences between human cultures are trivial, why should we pay historians and anthropologists to study them?”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Yuval Noah Harari" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yuval-noah-harari/such-racist-theories-prominent-and-respectable-for-many-decades-have/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Different cultures" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yuval-noah-harari/such-racist-theories-prominent-and-respectable-for-many-decades-have/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/07f/yuval-noah-harari-100_different-cultures_such-racist-theories-prominent-and-respe_2276114.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/07f/yuval-noah-harari-100_different-cultures_such-racist-theories-prominent-and-respe_2276114.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/07f/yuval-noah-harari-100_different-cultures_such-racist-theories-prominent-and-respe_2276114.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Such racist theories, prominent and respectable for many decades, have become anathema among scientists and…” — Yuval Noah Harari", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Yuval Noah Harari", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yuval-noah-harari/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“Such racist theories, prominent and respectable...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yuval-noah-harari/such-racist-theories-prominent-and-respectable-for-many-decades-have/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yuval-noah-harari/such-racist-theories-prominent-and-respectable-for-many-decades-have/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```