Superiority Syndrome

Superiority Syndrome

By M.B.O Owolowo 

The root of certain ideologies can be traced to the notions of ‘White Supremacy’. This recurring trait can be referred to as the superiority syndrome, and it can be analysed as an obsession with pre-eminence. A scrutiny of individuals who harbour such views would reveal they were inadvertently influenced by extremist supremacists. The superiority syndrome reeks of an entitlement mentality. Historically, this superiority syndrome – motivated by self-centrism, and quite possibly a melancholic inferiority complex, led to the destruction, desecration and deaths of many innocent people across the globe. It is a toxic ideology that has been perpetuated via various mediums for centuries. The superiority syndrome inextricably birthed European imperialism and colonialism, and greatly influenced Neocolonialism, Orientalism and Neo-Orientalism. Other ideological by-products influenced by the superiority syndrome include Western pre-eminence, Eurocentrism, and all forms of Eurocentric far-right movements. The adverse consequences establishes that superiority syndrome has influenced ideologies that are personally and societally detrimental. There is a high potential of metamorphosis into a dangerous mindset that solely sets out to oppress and destroy any group considered foreign – people who are generally regarded inferior. More worrying is the modern-day justification of such barbaric and inhumane atrocities, as was done historically and normalised by the information dissemination forerunners – arts, media and academia. 

Francis Galton is usually accorded the ‘father of eugenics’ title in academia and was acknowledged as the originator of the phrase ‘nature versus nurture’. Galton, who was also a blood relative of Charles Darwin – the proponent of the theory of biological evolution by natural selection, died in 1911. The First International Eugenics Congress held at the University of London, South Kensington, on July 24 - 30, 1912, was dedicated to Francis Galton. Interestingly, among those in attendance were Charles Darwin’s son, Major Leonard Darwin, Lord Balfour, Winston Churchill and some ambassadors. Racism presented under the guise of science which is essentially scientific racism – pseudoscientific eugenics, was utilised as a justification for decimation. As it may be a more difficult task to convince the Western public of killing sprees occurring on the lands of the invaded, the invasions had to be justified as “civilizing missions”. 

Perhaps, with the abundant wealth amassed from the pillaging of colonial territories came arrogance and the need to justify the brutish ‘civilising’ – rather uncivilising or decivilising, missions.  The psychology of the invader had to be prepped for any form of associative aporia. According to English writer, Rudyard Kipling, this conundrum can be described as the ‘White Man’s Burden’ so anything to help John Bull and Uncle Sam sleep better at night. The associative cognitive dissonance and guilt that has tormented the intended beneficiaries of developed systems that thrived on such inhumane acts can only be imagined. Sadly, this very dangerous perception that promotes the deliberate subjugation of others still influences numerous minds till date. In recent years, there has been a dedicated public dissociation with eugenics and an analytical evisceration of what it represents. According to a report titled Eugenics and Scientific Racism, by the National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI), “Eugenics is not a fringe movement”, and from “the late 1800s, leaders and intellectuals worldwide perpetuated eugenic beliefs and policies based on common racist and xenophobic attitudes.”

In 2022, Nature journal published an editorial on its website titled How Nature contributed to science’s discriminatory legacy, condemning their historic ties to “objectionable and racist views”. The publication further states that the journal “matured as Britain became the biggest colonial power in history — by 1919, the British Empire spanned roughly one-quarter of the world’s land and population.  Also, the Nature publication stated that “many scientists editing and writing” for the journal “endorsed the views of white, European superiority that drove this empire building.” That among published “harmful items”, Galton’s articles “stand out” and this avenue facilitated a platform “that spread and legitimized his ideas.” The Nature journal admitted its archives included “harmful contributions from the fields of ecology, evolution, anthropology and ethnography, which were inextricably linked with colonial expansion.” 

Nature specifically denounced its 1921 editorial for reflecting “imperialist and racist views”, and its reportage on a session of the then British Association for the Advancement of Science “devoted to the discussion of the ways and means by which the science of anthropology might be made of greater practical utility in the administration of the Empire, particularly in relation to the government of our subject and backward races”. In its apology to contributing to “science’s discriminatory legacy” it regrets publishing various “offensive, injurious and destructive views, cloaked in the veil of science.”

The superiority syndrome seems to be an infective malady that has influenced minds in individual and collective capacities and had a profound impact on the affected populace. The contagion has had far-reaching consequences across generations. Society has witnessed various manifestations of the superiority syndrome. In global politics, the superiority syndrome facilitates a crass impudence that concludes that sovereign entities lack the capacity to govern their affairs and must have an inferior system of government. The superiority syndrome galvanizes the condescending audacity to believe that other world regions can be bombed into accepting the Western forms of governance, as dictated by the West – it is either their way or the highway. It is based on such an imperious mentality that the West’s version of rule is the only acceptable way. In this regard, it must be emphasized that such ideologies do not just spring out of the blue; rather such mind-polluting views are nurtured. The superiority syndrome infects the mind, and the mentality has inspired other toxic ideologies like Nazism, Neo-Nazism, and ‘White Supremacy’. Supremacist ideology can be described as a crude form of Social Darwinism manifesting as an extreme social construct of racial superiority. Ideological toxicity ruins social cohesion.

This type of prejudiced mindset is potentially ubiquitous, and the outcome is often fatal, as it manifests the darkest aspects of a racist ideology. Based on scaremongering propaganda by the far-right, some insecure Caucasians are threatened by the ‘race extinction’ spin. The consumers of such divisive propaganda end up deeply despising immigration, multiculturalism and globalization.

Excerpt from Pgs 34-38 of R.O.G U.E: Reality On Ground Undermining Enterprise by M.B.O Owolowo ©️