{"id":121875,"date":"2018-05-03T03:06:41","date_gmt":"2018-05-03T11:06:41","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/lukeford.net\/blog\/?p=121875"},"modified":"2023-05-31T04:41:33","modified_gmt":"2023-05-31T12:41:33","slug":"viewpoint-kevin-macdonald-wont-accept-evidence-supporting-alternative-theories-about-jewish-influence","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lukeford.net\/blog\/?p=121875","title":{"rendered":"Nathan Cofnas: Kevin MacDonald won&#8217;t accept evidence supporting alternative theories about Jewish influence"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><script>!function(r,u,m,b,l,e){r._Rumble=b,r[b]||(r[b]=function(){(r[b]._=r[b]._||[]).push(arguments);if(r[b]._.length==1){l=u.createElement(m),e=u.getElementsByTagName(m)[0],l.async=1,l.src=\"https:\/\/rumble.com\/embedJS\/uajap1\"+(arguments[1].video?'.'+arguments[1].video:'')+\"\/?url=\"+encodeURIComponent(location.href)+\"&args=\"+encodeURIComponent(JSON.stringify([].slice.apply(arguments))),e.parentNode.insertBefore(l,e)}})}(window, document, \"script\", \"Rumble\");<\/script><\/p>\n<div id=\"rumble_v2ctpd6\"><\/div>\n<p><script>\nRumble(\"play\", {\"video\":\"v2ctpd6\",\"div\":\"rumble_v2ctpd6\"});<\/script><\/p>\n<p><script>!function(r,u,m,b,l,e){r._Rumble=b,r[b]||(r[b]=function(){(r[b]._=r[b]._||[]).push(arguments);if(r[b]._.length==1){l=u.createElement(m),e=u.getElementsByTagName(m)[0],l.async=1,l.src=\"https:\/\/rumble.com\/embedJS\/uajap1\"+(arguments[1].video?'.'+arguments[1].video:'')+\"\/?url=\"+encodeURIComponent(location.href)+\"&args=\"+encodeURIComponent(JSON.stringify([].slice.apply(arguments))),e.parentNode.insertBefore(l,e)}})}(window, document, \"script\", \"Rumble\");<\/script><\/p>\n<div id=\"rumble_vbuyfx\"><\/div>\n<p><script>\nRumble(\"play\", {\"video\":\"vbuyfx\",\"div\":\"rumble_vbuyfx\"});<\/script><\/p>\n<p><script>!function(r,u,m,b,l,e){r._Rumble=b,r[b]||(r[b]=function(){(r[b]._=r[b]._||[]).push(arguments);if(r[b]._.length==1){l=u.createElement(m),e=u.getElementsByTagName(m)[0],l.async=1,l.src=\"https:\/\/rumble.com\/embedJS\/uajap1\"+(arguments[1].video?'.'+arguments[1].video:'')+\"\/?url=\"+encodeURIComponent(location.href)+\"&args=\"+encodeURIComponent(JSON.stringify([].slice.apply(arguments))),e.parentNode.insertBefore(l,e)}})}(window, document, \"script\", \"Rumble\");<\/script><\/p>\n<div id=\"rumble_v22hm7k\"><\/div>\n<p><script>\nRumble(\"play\", {\"video\":\"v22hm7k\",\"div\":\"rumble_v22hm7k\"});<\/script><\/p>\n<p><script>!function(r,u,m,b,l,e){r._Rumble=b,r[b]||(r[b]=function(){(r[b]._=r[b]._||[]).push(arguments);if(r[b]._.length==1){l=u.createElement(m),e=u.getElementsByTagName(m)[0],l.async=1,l.src=\"https:\/\/rumble.com\/embedJS\/uajap1\"+(arguments[1].video?'.'+arguments[1].video:'')+\"\/?url=\"+encodeURIComponent(location.href)+\"&args=\"+encodeURIComponent(JSON.stringify([].slice.apply(arguments))),e.parentNode.insertBefore(l,e)}})}(window, document, \"script\", \"Rumble\");<\/script><\/p>\n<div id=\"rumble_ve5u0b\"><\/div>\n<p><script>\nRumble(\"play\", {\"video\":\"ve5u0b\",\"div\":\"rumble_ve5u0b\"});<\/script><\/p>\n<p><script>!function(r,u,m,b,l,e){r._Rumble=b,r[b]||(r[b]=function(){(r[b]._=r[b]._||[]).push(arguments);if(r[b]._.length==1){l=u.createElement(m),e=u.getElementsByTagName(m)[0],l.async=1,l.src=\"https:\/\/rumble.com\/embedJS\/uajap1\"+(arguments[1].video?'.'+arguments[1].video:'')+\"\/?url=\"+encodeURIComponent(location.href)+\"&args=\"+encodeURIComponent(JSON.stringify([].slice.apply(arguments))),e.parentNode.insertBefore(l,e)}})}(window, document, \"script\", \"Rumble\");<\/script><\/p>\n<div id=\"rumble_v21v3nc\"><\/div>\n<p><script>\nRumble(\"play\", {\"video\":\"v21v3nc\",\"div\":\"rumble_v21v3nc\"});<\/script><\/p>\n<p><A HREF=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/nathancofnas\/with_replies\">Here are some of Nathan&#8217;s latest tweets<\/a>:<\/p>\n<p>* Since I think MacDonald&#8217;s theory is wrong, obviously I think it has a &#8220;non-educative effect&#8221; on people who buy into it.<\/p>\n<p>* Setting out to understand Jewish behavior without being committed to distorting the facts to fit a preconceived anti-Jewish theory = legitimate interest.<\/p>\n<p>* I agree. That&#8217;s why my argument isn&#8217;t that I can find one or two exceptions to MacDonald&#8217;s rule. I&#8217;m saying MacDonald&#8217;s rule doesn&#8217;t predict anything.<\/p>\n<p>*  I say here that &#8220;many educated white nationalists [have become] anti-Semitic.&#8221; Ergo anti-Semitism can affect educated people.<\/p>\n<p>* What exactly does MacDonald&#8217;s Judaism-as-a-group-evolutionary-strategy theory explain if it&#8217;s consistent with Jews being leaders of the most influential anti-liberal, anti-multicultural movements? This is exactly what the DH predicts. Don&#8217;t see how MacDonald predicts it.<\/p>\n<p>* Leonard Cohen: &#8220;The point is this that peoples, races, bloods have vocations. That people have geniuses. If you don&#8217;t believe it then you wipe out the variety and the beauty of the world.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>* I&#8217;m satisfied with having made the point that he [Sean Last] didn&#8217;t understand my hypothesis, thus didn&#8217;t respond to it at all. There are many issues in his video, but most of his misrepresentations aren&#8217;t relevant to my original paper.<\/p>\n<p><A HREF=\"https:\/\/geneticliteracyproject.org\/2018\/05\/02\/viewpoint-kevin-macdonald-wont-accept-evidence-supporting-alternative-theories-about-jewish-influence\/\">Nathan Cofnas writes<\/a>:<\/p>\n<p>Kevin MacDonald <a href=\"https:\/\/wp.me\/p5xY1O-8CZs\" data-wpel-link=\"external\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow external noopener noreferrer\">now says<\/a> that his \u201ccentral goal has been to describe intellectual and political movements that were influential. The participation of individual Jews, such as the Jewish speakers at American Renaissance&#8230;, does not make AmRen a Jewish movement, nor does it make it influential.\u201d He says he is only \u201cconcerned about where the power lies.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><b><i>Editor&#8217;s note: Nathan Cofnas is writing about the essay <a class=\"row-title\" href=\"https:\/\/geneticliteracyproject.org\/wp-admin\/post.php?post=2056506&amp;action=edit\" aria-label=\"\u201cKevin MacDonald responds to criticism of his theory of Jewish ethnocentrism and influence\u201d (Edit)\" data-wpel-link=\"internal\">Kevin MacDonald responds to criticism of his theory of Jewish ethnocentrism and influence<\/a>. Cofnas&#8217;s original piece was <a href=\"https:\/\/geneticliteracyproject.org\/2018\/04\/16\/analyzing-kevin-macdonalds-culture-of-critique-and-the-alt-rights-embrace-of-anti-jewish-ideology\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" data-wpel-link=\"internal\">Analyzing Kevin MacDonald&#8217;s &#8216;Culture of Critique&#8217; and the alt-right&#8217;s embrace of anti-Jewish ideology<\/a>.<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n<p>Notice the implication: Even if Jews are vastly overrepresented in leadership positions in anti-liberal, anti-multicultural movements (which they are), it won\u2019t matter for MacDonald because these movements haven\u2019t been \u201cinfluential\u201d and the \u201cpower\u201d doesn\u2019t lie with them. This effectively means that he will refuse to accept evidence that supports the obvious alternative to his theory, namely the <a href=\"https:\/\/link.springer.com\/article\/10.1007%2Fs12110-018-9310-x\" data-wpel-link=\"external\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow external noopener noreferrer\">\u201cdefault hypothesis\u201d<\/a>: Because of their above average intelligence and concentration in influential urban areas, Jews will be overrepresented in all intellectual movements and activities that are not overtly anti-Semitic.<\/p>\n<p>The case of American Renaissance is a good example of how Jews are overrepresented among the whole range of (non anti-Semitic) political movements. AmRen is the only major white nationalist organization that is not anti-Semitic. Jewish involvement in AmRen has gone far beyond the \u201cparticipation of individual Jews.\u201d Jews were 40% of the invited speakers at its first conference, and many of the most prominent people who have been associated with AmRen have been Jews. There are currently eleven books and pamphlets for sale on AmRen\u2019s website (including three by founder Jared Taylor). Two of these are by Jews: <em>Why Race Matters<\/em> by Michael Levin, former professor of philosophy at City University of New York, and \u201cThe Color of Crime\u201d\u2014probably the most influential AmRen publication\u2014by Edwin S. Rubenstein. (Ironically, Jewish involvement in AmRen seems to have dropped off in recent years in large part due to the increasing influence of MacDonald\u2019s work, which has turned many educated white nationalists anti-Semitic.)<\/p>\n<p>MacDonald says that he \u201ccan\u2019t think of any prominent populist Jewish intellectuals.\u201d It\u2019s not clear what he means by \u201cpopulist\u201d or \u201cintellectual.\u201d Bernie Sanders and Donald Trump were both described as \u201cpopulists,\u201d but I assume MacDonald is referring to a white nationalist populism. If that\u2019s what he means, it\u2019s not clear that there are <em>any<\/em> prominent populist intellectuals in America today, Jew <em>or<\/em> gentile.<\/p>\n<p>MacDonald says that \u201cthere is a sprinkling of Jews among paleoconservatives.\u201d This is misleading. The term \u201cpaleoconservative\u201d was coined by a Jew, Paul Gottfried (whom alt-right leader Richard Spencer <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/RichardBSpencer\/status\/974816255201996800\" data-wpel-link=\"external\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow external noopener noreferrer\">described<\/a> as a \u201cmentor\u201d). As I wrote in my <a href=\"https:\/\/geneticliteracyproject.org\/2018\/04\/16\/analyzing-kevin-macdonalds-culture-of-critique-and-the-alt-rights-embrace-of-anti-jewish-ideology\/\" data-wpel-link=\"internal\">first rejoinder<\/a> to MacDonald, according to the \u201cProminent people\u201d section of the Wikipedia entry for \u201cPaleoconservatism,\u201d 1\/6 prominent paleoconservative politicians, 1\/9 philosophers and scholars, and 1\/5 journalists is Jewish. This makes Jews vastly overrepresented among prominent paleoconservatives despite the fact that many self-identified paleoconservatives are (at least implicitly) hostile to Jews. Once again, we find the pattern predicted by the default hypothesis and not predicted by MacDonald.<\/p>\n<p>One final point. MacDonald keeps repeating that the Jews he discusses are \u201cstrongly identified Jews.\u201d I have pointed out in both my <a href=\"https:\/\/link.springer.com\/article\/10.1007%2Fs12110-018-9310-x\" data-wpel-link=\"external\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow external noopener noreferrer\">paper<\/a> and my <a href=\"https:\/\/www.researchgate.net\/publication\/323918530_Kevin_MacDonald%27s_Response_with_Comments_by_Nathan_Cofnas\" data-wpel-link=\"external\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow external noopener noreferrer\">rejoinder<\/a> that, in almost all cases, he has no evidence for this other than the fact that these people were Jewish and (in some cases) spoke out against anti-Semitism, which does not actually prove that someone is a \u201cstrongly identified\u201d Jew. For MacDonald, however, it seems that the only reasons to oppose anti-Semitism are that one is a strongly identified Jew, under the control of Jews, or alienated from society because of physical unattractiveness. (He recently <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/TOOEdit\/status\/986281143065432064\" data-wpel-link=\"external\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow external noopener noreferrer\">offered the following explanation<\/a> for why Jean-Paul Sartre fought against anti-Semitism: \u201cSartre was ugly by all accounts and 5-feet tall. No surprise growing up he felt rejected &amp; had low social status. He turns this resentment into philosemitism (Jews are also rejected outsiders), hatred of traditional institutions, &amp; into [the] theory [that] anti-Semitism is psychopathology.\u201d)<\/p>\n<p>In his reply, MacDonald claims that the figures he mentions, who espoused universalism and rejected Jewish nationalism, \u201coften had complex and even self-deceptive Jewish identities.\u201d This is a roundabout way of admitting that these figures never gave any indication that they cared about being Jews. Nevertheless, MacDonald concludes that their apparent apathy was \u201cself-deceptive\u201d because <em>unconsciously<\/em> they were strongly committed Jews. The practice of <a href=\"http:\/\/quillette.com\/2018\/03\/23\/alt-right-regressive-left-common\/\" data-wpel-link=\"external\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow external noopener noreferrer\">reinterpreting obvious counterexamples<\/a> to a theory as supporting evidence is the essence of pseudoscience.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Here are some of Nathan&#8217;s latest tweets: * Since I think MacDonald&#8217;s theory is wrong, obviously I think it has a &#8220;non-educative effect&#8221; on people who buy into it. * Setting out to understand Jewish behavior without being committed to &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/lukeford.net\/blog\/?p=121875\">Continue reading <span class=\"meta-nav\">&rarr;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[42720,29,42839,6795],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-121875","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-alt-right","category-jews","category-jf-gariepy","category-kevin-macdonald"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lukeford.net\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/121875","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lukeford.net\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lukeford.net\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lukeford.net\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lukeford.net\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=121875"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/lukeford.net\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/121875\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":148442,"href":"https:\/\/lukeford.net\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/121875\/revisions\/148442"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lukeford.net\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=121875"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lukeford.net\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=121875"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lukeford.net\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=121875"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}