Racism is the view that (1) the human species is composed of different racial groups, (2) these groups are arranged hierarchically from least to most superior, and (3) superior groups have the right to use inferior groups for the benefit of the superior group. Sexism and speciesism are similarly defined, justifying the right of men to dominate women, and the right of human beings to dominate other species of beings. Before Darwin, racial groups were typically defined in terms of lineage and type: a racial group was the progeny of certain original types, each of which exemplified a distinctive physiognomy and pattern of behavior. The current status of a racial group was then explained by reference to its ancestral sources. Thus, the democratic and enterprising nature of the English was the result of their Anglo-Saxon heritage, whereas the servile position of Africans was the result of their being the...