Essay on the Inequality of Human Races

Arthur de Gobineau's Essay on the Inequality of Human Races (1853–55) posited that civilizations are determined by racial composition. He asserted the superiority of the white race, particularly the "Aryan" peoples, and claimed that racial mixing, or miscegenation, leads to the decline of civilizations. Gobineau's theories, though now discredited, significantly influenced subsequent racist ideologies in Europe.12

The concept of an "Aryan race" emerged in the mid-19th century, with Gobineau and later Houston Stewart Chamberlain using "Aryan" to denote the "white race". This ideology was later adopted by Adolf Hitler and the Nazis, forming the basis for their discriminatory policies. It is important to note that the term "Aryan" is now primarily used in linguistics to refer to a branch of the Indo-European language family, and its use as a racial designation is rejected by scholars.32