ABSTRACT

The Lilliputian official’s suggestion that the decision about which end of the egg is the convenient end be left to each person’s conscience misses the point. The way one breaks an egg or the way one makes the sign of the cross marks one as being one of “us” or one of “them.” That is the issue. Since the earliest human groups were probably families, carriers of similar genetic complexes, recognition of kin did not depend on sensitivity to the other’s genetic makeup. The attitudes of underdogs vary over a tremendous range. Studies designed to tap attitudes of underdogs reveal not so much psychological predilections associated with a subjugated social position as adjustments to the position characteristic of a particular culture or a particular society. Rationalization of exploitation and dominance is often reflected in patronizing attitudes toward the underdogs, who are regarded as childishly irresponsible or mentally inferior.