Hobbes vs. Rousseau: Are Humans Inherently Wicked or Good?
The 95% Theory: Ordinary People and the Manipulation of Public Opinion
Historical Roots of Racism in the United States
Nazi Germany as a Lesson in Mass Psychology
India’s Caste Reality vs. America’s Racial Question
Are Institutions to Blame, Not People?
A Call for Self-Introspection Before Moral Judgment
Justice Katju argues that racism in America is rooted in historical and institutional factors rather than inherent human nature, drawing on Rousseau’s philosophy and comparing racial discrimination in the U.S. with caste prejudice in India....
Are Americans racist?
By Justice Markandey Katju
I had a long conversation on WhatsApp a short while back with a friend of mine who is of Indian origin, settled in USA. Among the things he said was that Americans are racist.
I strongly objected to this statement and gave him a long discourse on my views, which are stated below.
The British philosopher Thomas Hobbes ( 1588-1679 ) in his book Leviathan, said that men are basically wicked by nature, and are permanently in a state of war with each other, and would cut each others' throats if not restrained. Hence, a king was required to check their evil impulses.
In contrast, the French philosopher Jean-Jacques Rousseau ( 1712-78 ) believed that humans are inherently good and compassionate by nature, but are sometimes made wicked by the influences of institutions, society, and private property.
I am a humble disciple of Rousseau. I believe that 95% of all people, white, brown or black, and of all religions, races, etc., are good by nature. 95% Hindus are good, as are 95% Muslims, Sikhs, Christians, etc. However, often the remaining 5%, who are powerful and crafty, get control, and by propaganda and other means make many of the 95% wicked for some period. For instance, in India for some years attempts have been made to paint the Muslims as terrorists, anti-national, and fanatics, and atrocities committed on them, though the truth is that 95% Muslims are good and decent people.
Every German I met I found to be a fine person. But during Hitler's Nazi rule ( 1933-45 ), almost the whole of Germany went mad, thinking they were the master race, and that Jews were responsible for all the evils in the world.
Similarly, I found every white American I met to be a fine person, as mentioned below.
It is true that some Americans are racist, particularly in the southern states ( the Deep South). But this is not because Americans are inherently racist, but because of historical reasons. At one time there was slavery in America in the southern cotton-growing states, and the white people regarded the blacks, who were slaves, as inferior humans. Remnants of that thinking continue to persist in some whites, though it is gradually dying out. I have explained my views in the article below
I told my friend that many people in India regard Dalits ( scheduled castes ) as inferior. If a Dalit young man falls in love and marries an upper caste girl, often both are killed by family and/or upper caste members ( called 'honour killing' ). But in America, if a black man marries a white girl they are not killed ( though many may not approve of it ). So conditions in India are worse than that in America.
Who are we then to complain of racial discrimination in USA ?
(Justice Markandey Katju is a former Judge of the Supreme Court of India, and former Chairman of the Press Council of India. The views expressed are his own.)
