Identity issues
A recent (15th Aug
2012)issue of the Indian Express carries the story of an upcoming
leader of a far-right Hungarian party (Jobbik) named Csanad Szegedi
who was (in)famous for his loudly proclaimed anti-Semitic views. By
an unkind twist of fate the 30-year old discovered in 2010 from a
'convicted felon' – whom he was unable to silence – that his
maternal grandparents were Jews, and that his grandmother was an
Auschwitz survivor. Jobbik has just disowned him, although Szegedi is
not a practising Jew by any means.
The irony of this story is practically
Kafkaesque, and it takes the phrase,” He's his own worst enemy”
to a whole new level. One wonders what Szegedi will do: take solace
in drink, commit suicide, re-invent himself (as what?), - or emigrate
to Israel?
However, the story raises other
questions that apply almost universally. One could easily change
names and consider a Szegedi clone in the RSS (or the Laskar-e-Teuba)
who hates Muslims (or Hindus) viscerally, and belatedly finds out
that he has Muslim (or Hindu) ancestors. As Szegedi's story makes
clear, it is not enough for Szegedi to denounce Jews – he must be
free from any ancestral taint.
All identities are constructed. We
share 'markers' with our in-group that differentiate us from all
out-groups. But the notion that groups can be exclusive and 'pure' is
a difficult one to maintain, at least for humans. The evidence
indicates that groups are highly overlapping. The identity
constructed (and constricted) by absolute exclusivity is fragile –
and flies in the face of evidence. For example, the study of caste in
India on the basis of genetics was initially expected to show
significant divergences between different groups – considering
that caste has been entrenched for at least two millenia.
Interestingly, the study showed statistically insignificant
differences between the so-called 'upper' and 'lower' castes' -
evidence of considerable, and ongoing, miscegenation, by a variety of
means [1].
Of course, today we believe that,
since cultural evolution is faster than genetic evolution, it
determines our future to a greater extent than genetic evolution
does. Indubitably the culture you grow up in determines to a large
extent the kind of occupation that you will end up in: goat-herder,
politician or nuclear physicist. Your culture conditions your
expectations and defines your opportunities.
With greater access all over the world
to education, one may expect a widening of opportunities. However,
the access provided by tools such as the internet may turn out to be
illusory or non-existent for people on the wrong side of the digital
divide. Also, some may be unable to access certain forms of knowledge
because of their own cultural preconceptions: imagine a Taliban
anthropologist, almost an oxymoron.
To return to Szegedi, he lived and
defended a culture that he felt was under siege from inimical forces,
much as the Taliban or Boko Haram fear Western 'contamination' and
desire 'decontamination'. However, any culture that repudiates the
influences of multiple others is inherently weak. The strongest is
the culture that opens its arms to worldwide influences, assimilates
and transmogrifies them. To a certain extent, the conservative
tendency in a culture that insists on purity and exclusivness allows
its identity to survive in a recognizable form. At the same time, no
culture can remain static and that means that it must be open. Not
completely open, perhaps, but at least partially open.
The irony does not end with Szegedi's
quandary. The long-term future of Israel as a 'homeland for Jews' is
in doubt, despite its overwhelming military and technological
superiority. The problem the Jews face is the desire to acquire and
retain as much of the 'Promised Land' as possible while denying
Palestinians full citizenship, since they can never be bona fide Jews
in a 'Jewish homeland'. Demographics mean that Israel will face a
problem in remaining a 'Jewish democracy' in the longer term, even if
in the short term they continue to out-maneuver the Palestinians and
other Arabs.
But the question that Szegedi's story
raises has an another implication. What is the difference between the
Jews and the Arabs or Europeans? Some recent genetic studies by Harry
Ostrer [2] indicate that both Ashkenazi and Sephardic Jews have
common genetic markers, but these are traced back to the Levant, and
that these are, in fact, shared with the much-reviled Palestinians.
The Jews also have 30-60% non-Middle Eastern genetic markers. That
is, Jews also have genes in common with Palestinians and non-Jewish
Europeans [2,3]. Does it matter? Or is culture the primary
determinant? In that case, an Arab or European child brought up by
Jews would be Jewish? Why not?
The attempt by sociobiologists such as
E.O.Wilson to explain human behaviour in terms of our evolutionary
heritage were widely condemned as sexist, racist and elitist.
Nevertheless, we desperately need to understand ourselves, our genes,
our cultures, and what they mean for our future. Study of aboriginal
tribes in Australia suggested that groups avoid inbreeding when
intermarriage occurs at a level of about 7-10% [4] and that there
is considerable genetic similarity across tribes.
Today, the metaphor of the 'melting
pot' in America has been replaced by the 'salad bowl'. Xenophobia in
Europe is undergoing a resurgence - like recurrent malaria - which it
does whenever times are hard. The issues of identity are not, in an
increasingly globalized world, going away any time soon. The idea of
'multiculturalism' is being touted by the British in the days of the
Olympics, alongside ever stricter immigration controls: go figure! A
country like Japan which is highly insular but rapidly aging will
face a demographic crunch as surely as the Europeans, the problem in
both cases being a birth rate that has dropped below the replacement
rate.Will demographics and economics ultimately trump the distaste
for outsiders, Auslanders?
Even if they do, who will convince
Szegidi and Breivik?
- E.O.Wilson “Sociobiology: the new synthesis” Ch.27, p.11/31.
- “Legacy: A Genetic History of the Jewish People” (Oxford University Press) by Harry Ostrer
- “The Chosen Genes” by Josh Fischmann, http://chronicle.com/article/The-Chosen-Genes/131481/
- E.O.Wilson “Sociobiology: the new synthesis” Ch.27 p. 9/31.
