Summary
Franz Oppenheimer’s term, grounded in neo-Lamarckian inheritance of acquired characteristics, for race as dynamic and malleable: its physical and psychological composition could be altered within the span of one or two generations (Zionism and Cosmopolitanism: Franz Oppenheimer and the Dream of a Jewish Future in Germany and Palestine, PDF p.59, p.77).
Details
- Lamarck’s inheritance theory was crucial for Oppenheimer’s understanding; he called the malleability within one or two generations the “plasticity of race”, with a fuller treatment promised in chapter 2 of the work (PDF p.59).
- In chapter 2 the “plasticity of race” allowed a race’s composition to be altered within a few generations, race regarded as malleable and hence as a source of hope for the future (PDF p.77).
- Some long-lasting influences symbolised by (masters’) blood nevertheless enabled a class hierarchy in which mobility was biologically limited, and Oppenheimer argued Africans could not achieve Europeans’ cultural level because they biologically mature earlier (PDF p.79).
Related pages
Zionism and Cosmopolitanism: Franz Oppenheimer and the Dream of a Jewish Future in Germany and Palestine, Franz Oppenheimer, Rassenhygiene, Organicism