Pathogens as Cultural Vectors

The article proposes that infectious agents carried by a socially marginal subgroup can transmit effects (health, behavior, cognition) that then become embedded in another group's social outcomes. It treats disease exposure as a mechanism that can masquerade as cultural transmission and thereby reshape intergroup inequalities across generations. — If promoted, this idea could reframe debates about racial inequality away from social determinants and genetics toward contested biomedical narratives, altering public‑health priorities and fueling political and ideological conflict.