Such reports may seem far removed from the concerns that motivate this article—genetic essentialism, beliefs in essential racial differences, and racism. However, if we consider what is communicated in these messages and how the public is likely to react, a compelling rationale emerges for Duster’s (1990, 2003a) warning that modern genetic research, despite its apparent disinterest in racial difference and hierarchy, may provide a backdoor to eugenics.
