ABSTRACT
JustastheattitudeoftheVictorianstothecustomsand'character' of'primitive'peoplewasconditionedbyevolutionarytheories,so weretheirconceptionsof'primitive'institutions.Thepoliticalinstitutionsof'savages'wereassumedtolackthesubtletyandintelligenceofEuropeandemocracy,since'savages'themselveslackedboth subtletyandintelligence.Since'primitive'societiesrepresentedearlier stagesofhumandevelopment,theirpoliticalinstitutionswerealso immature,eveniftheydiddisplayfeaturesofamuchearlierperiod inEurope.Thevirtuesofdemocracy,however,belongednotonlyto Europeansocialhistorybutalsotoracialhistory-itwasaninherent characteristicoftheAnglo-Saxonrace:
'SuchspecificallyAnglo-Saxonattributesasreason,restraint, self-control,loveoffreedomandhatredofanarchy,respectfor lawanddistrustofenthusiasmwereactuallytransmissible fromonegenerationofAnglo-Saxonstothenextinakindof biologicallydeterminedinheritance'(Curtis,1968,p.8).
