American neuroscientist, Dr. Robert Sapolsky, states that there is a widespread and dangerous notion that has taken root in our dominant scientific understanding of human behavior. The notion is that we believe human behavior is genetically determined. This deterministic view of life suggests life is rooted in biology and genetics, that we are our genes, and that genes cannot be changed. This notion is used to support the view that human nature is governed by an innate self-interest, a trait we developed through evolution.You may be wondering what this has to do with the scourge of capitalism that is the focus of my blog. Some of you may have looked at the last sentence as a hint--because, of course, this view of human nature directly supports the capitalist world-view and justifies all sorts of sociopathic crimes against the rest of humanity. This is correct, but I'd like to attack this "dangerous notion" that Renzo refers to from another direction.
The view of human nature as composed of genetic predispositions toward certain behaviors which are modulated by social experience is supported by overwhelming evidence. Yet, in spite of this, capitalist ideologues continue to revert to a more mechanistic view based entirely on genetics. It seems that this phenomenon keeps coming back. Recall its prominence among fascist regimes in the 1930s and in the quasi-fascism of 1920-1930 America? Such a view prevents any notions that the way societies are organized can have deleterious effects on human development; and thus, discourages any examination of evidence that a capitalist organized society contributes to all sorts of human behavioral disorders.
If you use a class-based analysis to class-structured societies dating from their first appearance in agrarian societies until the present time (which represents about two percent of human history), you will understand that a ruling class will always impose self-justifying views on the rest of society including its scientists.
