The Family Roots of Racism: A Toddian Perspective on Japan, Europe, and the US
International exclusion signs reflecting the root family's obsession with purity and hostility toward out-groups.
Unlock the secret roots of global xenophobia: Todd links racism in the US, Japan, and France to family history.
French anthropologist Emmanuel Todd offers a provocative and crucial analysis of racism in leading global powers, arguing that its underlying dynamics are vastly different across countries. In his study, 'Le Destin des Immigrés' (The Fate of Immigrants), Todd shifts the focus from typical sociopolitical explanations to the powerful value-forming structure of the family to explain national behavior toward outsiders. He posits that societies can range from open and egalitarian to supremacist and xenophobic, with family structure playing a key role in shaping this spectrum.
The French Model: Universal Human Essence and Egalitarian Roots
Todd places France at one end of the spectrum, a nation molded by the Roman Empire, Catholicism, and the French Revolution. This powerful heritage instilled a core belief that all human beings share the same "universal man" essence, regardless of outward differences. This philosophy arose from the historically dominant Roman family structure in the Paris region, where inheritance was divided in equal shares among siblings. Todd argues that this "symmetrical" relationship between children fosters a subconscious worldview of fundamental human equality. Consequently, the French tend to be tolerant of surface differences like skin color but become implacably hostile if they perceive a group as not sharing their core cultural values of what it means to be human—a dynamic currently observed in France's fraught relationship with North African immigrants.
The Root Family: Hierarchy, Purity, and Hostility to Outsiders
At the opposite end, Todd places Japan and Germany, characterized by the 'famille souche' or "root family." This is an extended family structure obsessed with maintaining family assets, traditions, and lineage, with a sole heir entrusted with the survival of the core identity. This structure fosters inegalitarian relationships between siblings and a strong father figure, placing a high premium on conformity, discipline, and unity. Todd argues this dynamic leads to a deep-rooted belief in the group’s own superiority and purity, a respect for hierarchy, and a sharp awareness of in-groups versus out-groups. Internally, this can create pariah groups, like the leather workers in Japan or Jews in Germany, who function as symbols of a hostile external world that binds internal groups together. Todd notes that for these closed societies to thrive is unusual, and while Germany has shown more openness since 1945, Japan still struggles to build bridges with its key Asian neighbors, China and Korea.
The Nuclear Family: Individualism and the Obsession with Skin Color
Nuclear family symbolizing individualism and the structure that dictates national attitudes toward outsiders.
The US and the UK emerged with their own unique patterns, favoring nuclear families and weak states, which Todd links to freedom and individual self-development. Family wealth can be arbitrarily disposed of via the legal instrument of the will, teaching children early that "life is unfair" and success depends on personal efforts. Despite this individualistic bent, these cultures are plagued by an obsession with skin color. Todd argues that in the US, the hatred of Native Americans and Black slaves was crucial in uniting disparate white European immigrant groups (Irish, German, Italian) with a sense of commonality: white skin. This ideological legacy persists, with the modern US approach—encouraging ethnic groups to celebrate differences in skin color even as cultural differences disappear—being seen by Todd as foolishly collaborating with a dominant racist ideology. He views the US as a "destroyer" of other cultures, reluctant to assimilate new groups and preoccupied with superficial differences, ultimately reflecting a failure to appreciate common humanity.
Todd’s work reminds us that no single country can claim a monopoly on virtue, and the deep, historical structures of the family continue to shape how nations view and treat the outsider.
