A People That Shall Dwell Alone: Judaism as a Group Evolutionary Strategy, with Diaspora Peoples [Paperback]

Kevin MacDonald (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 6, 2002

This book attempts to understand an ancient people in terms of modern evolutionary biology. A basic idea is that Judaism is a group evolutionary strategy-what one might term an evolutionarily significant way for a group of people to get on in the world. The book documents several theoretically interesting aspects of group evolutionary strategies using Judaism as a case study. These topics include the theory of group evolutionary strategies, the genetic cohesion of Judaism, how Jews managed to erect and enforce barriers to gene flow between themselves and other peoples, resource competition between Jews and non-Jews, how Jews managed to have a high level of charity within their communities and at the same time prevented free-riding, how some groups of Jews came to have such high IQ's, and how Judaism developed in antiquity. This book was originally published in 1994 by Praeger Publishers. The Writers Club edition contains a new preface, Diaspora Peoples, describing several interesting group evolutionary strategies: The Gypsies, the Hutterites and Amish, the Calvinists and Puritans, and the Overseas Chinese.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Kevin MacDonald received his Ph.D. in Biobehavioral Sciences at the University of Connecticut and is Professor of Psychology at California State University?Long Beach. His research focuses on evolutionary psychology and on ethnicity and ethnic group conflict. His other books include Social and Personality Development: An Evolutionary Synthesis (New York: Plenum, 1988), Separation and Its Discontents: Toward an Evolutionary Theory of Anti-Semitism (Westport, CT: Praeger, 1998), and The Culture of Critique: An Evolutionary Analysis of Jewish Involvement in Twentieth-Century Intellectual and Political Movements (Westport, CT: Praeger, 1998/2002).

Product Details

• Paperback: 598 pages
• Publisher: iUniverse (June 6, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0595228380
• ISBN-13: 978-0595228386
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 1.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #493,004 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

114 of 131 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Remarkable Work of Scholarship, October 16, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: A People That Shall Dwell Alone: Judaism as a Group Evolutionary Strategy, with Diaspora Peoples (Paperback)

This is an academic study of the historical group conflict between Jews and Gentiles. Being academic in tone; it is not written necessarily to entertain, but readers with a keen interest in the subject will find it a revelation.

Is the author anti-Semitic? His research findings did not reveal a flattering portrait of the Jews as he examined 700 mainly Jewish sources about Jew/Gentile conflict. People who are against Jewish interests could certainly use McDonald's information to explain and justify their own ideologies. However, McDonald does not consider himself an anti-Semite and he says that he merely examines the conflict, hoping that his examination will help resolve the group conflict in the future. He does not elaborate how this could happen though. McDonald takes a cool, unemotional approach to his study that does not really advocate anything politically; but his findings have political implications.

McDonald's main concept is that of the Jews' group evolutionary strategy. It is one in which the group historically has strictly ensured that it did not genetically or culturally assimilate with the host population. (McDonald is uncertain of the modern data that says that Jews are assimulating more than in the past and he does not say that their strategy has changed.) Their relationship with the host population is merely "instrumental" while the group keeps focused on what is only good for the group. They have been excluded by the host population but they themselves have also been excluding. Their religion is a "this-worldly religion" that re-enforces the worldly goals of the group: to be fruitful and multiply, to keep their bloodlines pure (especially priestly ones), and to prosper as a group within the host population. The most chilling part of the book was McDonald's statement that if gentiles of European descent can be convinced by Jewish polemics that their Western civilization is morally bankrupt; they can make the European society self-destruct since European morality is individualistic and universal and will not hesitate to condemn their own people, if they are convinced that they are morally bankrupt.

In a nutshell, most of the historical criticisms voiced against Jews are justified by the research in this book. McDonald considers their group evolutionary strategy to have been extremely sucessful even though there has been from time to time violent gentile reaction against it. Of course, there will be accusations that McDonald is lying or distorting things; it is up to the reader to decide.

There is also a short introduction into group evolutionary strategies of other groups such as Gypsies, Mennonites, Overseas Chinese and Puritans which is interesting as well.

48 of 58 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars An Important Part of Half of the Dialogue, August 19, 2005

By 

seekerotruth "seekerotruth" (Southern California) - See all my reviews

This review is from: A People That Shall Dwell Alone: Judaism as a Group Evolutionary Strategy, with Diaspora Peoples (Paperback)

I also don't feel qualified to evaluate the author's thesis. However, I think most of us "Gentiles" have had encounters with Jews where an honest discussion of the relationship between Jews and non-Jews has been absolutely clearly made out of bounds by the other party. Why can't we have an honest discussion? Isn't it in everyone's real interest?

First I must say that I think many, many Jews have contributed a great deal to our society and civilization, and are terrific, extraordinary, gifted people. Be that as it is, stifling conversation that relates to race, ethnicity, etc., tends to be something many Jews seem to feel is a solemn duty. Unfortunately, there is a double standard at play with many individuals from this group. On the one hand, Jews must have a right to their identity and homeland. Western Europeans have no such right however, in these individuals' view. We Europeans (and presumably all non-Jews) have the right only to assimilate into the raceless world-man and go extinct. Anything less is racism which is Nazism which is genocide, the absurb shibboleth goes. Clearly many of us of European descent have internalized this suicidal belief.

A Jewish professor at one of the midwest universities gave a very revealing talk at an American Renaissance conference a few years ago, wherein in he stated that ever since the Holocaust, Jews have considered Whites the number one threat to their survival - because the Jews HAD assimilated in Germany and STILL the Holocaust happened. Fortunately, this professor was not an off-kilter apologist for Hitlerism or some other nut. He was just trying to explain why Jews have worked against White interests so assiduously for more than half a century. The big obstacle to the "Gentile"- Jewish dialogue, he said, has been that both groups carry an awful lot of baggage, and it's going to take time to get over that.

Well, why should Jews engage in this dialogue? Quite simply their and our survival may depend upon it. The one world dream is probably a pipe dream, and, if not, is that the kind of world people really want to live in? No distinct cultures, one language, lost identity on a global scale. I'll pass . We should instead be working for the survival of nations and peoples, rather than their steady obliteration. We now seem poised on the precipice of a tremendous cataclysm. How better to avoid it? To protect our sovereignty, borders, traditions, or to go the other way? The former, I think, is the answer.

8 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars 'GREAT BALLS OF FIRE!', June 16, 2007

By 

Michael Santomauro "What sort of Truth is it ... (New York, NY USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: A People That Shall Dwell Alone: Judaism as a Group Evolutionary Strategy, with Diaspora Peoples (Paperback)

What can I say...this psychologist has 'GREAT BALLS OF FIRE!' I wish he was my shrink!