The Moral and Intellectual Diversity of Races With Particular Reference to Their Respective Influence in the Civil and Political History of Mankind

"The Moral and Intellectual Diversity of Races" by comte de Arthur Gobineau is a scientific publication written in the mid-19th century. This work explores the varying moral and intellectual characteristics of human races, emphasizing their historical impacts on civilization and political structures. Gobineau aims to determine how these distinct traits influence the development of human society. The opening of the work begins with a contextual introduction that sets the stage for a broad exploration of race and ethnic diversity, as well as their implications for history and governance. It discusses how the author's experiences in political diplomacy incited his interest in the differing capacities and characteristics of various races, which he believes contribute significantly to their social and political development. The preface and initial chapters argue against the notion of universal equality among races by highlighting their distinct capabilities and contributions to civilization throughout history. The editor reinforces the importance of this exploration, asserting its relevance to contemporary issues of race and nationhood. (This is an automatically generated summary.)

Joseph Arthur de Gobineau was a French aristocrat who is best known for helping introduce scientific race theory and "racial demography", and for developing the theory of the Aryan master race and Nordicism. Known to his contemporaries as a novelist, diplomat and travel writer, he was an elitist who, in the immediate aftermath of the Revolutions of 1848, wrote An Essay on the Inequality of the Human Races. In it he argued that aristocrats were superior to commoners and that aristocrats possessed more Aryan genetic traits because of less interbreeding with inferior races.