In a practical sense, Whiskey’s prescription for dealing with Haiti is on target. But isn’t it worth seeking causal mechanisms that run from the genetically-and-environmentally-determined low IQ average to the political structures that lead to a dysfunctional society? For example, does a society with a mean IQ below 80 fall prey to Big Manism because the intelligence difference between the masses and the elite is 30-50 points, and that gap allows the elite too many degrees of freedom in their quest for wealth? Whereas in a society with a mean IQ of 102, IQ of the elite is more like 20-30 points above the average, and thus they have not such an overwhelming advantage in the political game of life.

I would like to see some data on the variance of IQ in places like Haiti versus Germany, Japan, Scotland. I suspect the variance is greater in the basketcase societies.