Supremacism Supremacism Stewart platform Category="Political theories"Category="Prejudices"Supremacism is the belief that a particular Race, Religion, belief system or Culture is superior to others and entitles those who identify with it to dominate, control or rule those who do not. Examples include supremacism based on ethnic or anthropological origins (white supremacism, black supremacism, Ethnocentrism) and Gender or sexuality (male supremacy, female supremacy, or "straight supremacism").

Beliefs and ideas

There is a distinction to be made between supremacism and the holding of beliefs. If someone believes something is true whilst someone else believes it is false, they will probably regard the evidence and Reasoning for their belief to be superior (more informed, more considered) than that of the other person. For instance, if I believe the Earth is flat whilst you believe it isn't, you would probably consider the evidence and reasoning for your belief to be superior to mine.

Supremacism, however, goes much further than this. A supremacist not only holds that any evidence and reasoning for their beliefs is superior to any other, but that they and others holding such beliefs have rights over those who do not.

Unlike Eastern religions such as Hinduism, Buddhism and Taoism, the three major Abrahamic religions (Judaism, Christianity and Islam) have been described as supremacist. This is largely because each have been associated not only with a set of religious beliefs and ideas but also with a race or a culture, for instance Christendom.

Recent justifications

After the work of Charles Darwin, proponents of supremacy sought scientific justification via concepts such as "Social Darwinism". The most notorious example of this is during the early 20th century and the rise of German National Socialism, which posited a "Master race", superior to others and therefore entitled to rule over others. This social self-identity led to Hitler's popular rise to power, and later to state policy ending in the holocaust. The Nazis are seen by many as an archetype of modern supremacism.

Minority views consider more recent belief systems to be supremacist, such as:

  1. The neoconservative belief that Western political and economic structures should be introduced throughout the world and that doing so by force is justified.
  2. The United Nations' The Universal Declaration of Human Rights wherein self-determination is not a right extended to "all peoples" if the identity of those "peoples" can be described as "racial".

Supremacist groups

The following groups qualify as supremacist organisations.

Racial supremacist groups

Religious supremacist groups

See also