How Intelligence Variations Shape Economic and Social Outcomes

In an economy where knowledge and, yes, intelligence lead to power and success, lower-skilled, less intelligent workers are increasingly replaced by machines. What do we do with them?

Ability varies significantly, and it cannot be socially engineered to a meaningful extent. Many attending four-year colleges shouldn't, and often end up with worthless degrees and mountains of debt.

See Why Many People Shouldn't Get a 4-Year Degree.

Now we face the problem of businesses demanding college degrees for non-college jobs but refusing to pay at the level these degrees should command.

See Requiring a College Degree to Clean Toilets.

We must view people as individuals with unequal abilities to understand how they can plan a future as productive citizens. Goals should be a realistic measure of skills and intelligence.

Understanding Intelligence: Howard Gardner’s Framework

The seven definitions of "intelligence" are based on Howard Gardner’s theory of multiple intelligences: bodily-kinesthetic, musical, interpersonal, intrapersonal, spatial, logical-mathematical, and linguistic.

What I present is a guide only. For example, someone with a high aptitude for math often scores above average in other intelligences as well.

A merit-based society with half the population below average creates insoluble problems. Egalitarian social engineers cannot fix these problems. We must stop wasting vast amounts of capital on unachievable goals.

We all possess these seven traits to varying degrees. It’s essential to understand the "difference in degree"—the best in any particular intelligence cannot be quantitatively compared to the average, who are often incapable of reaching that level.

No matter how hard one works, the gap persists—these traits result from a complex interaction of genetics and environment.

Physical and Creative Intelligences

Bodily-kinesthetic intelligence encompasses physical skills, such as those of professional athletes. These skills range from someone like myself, who struggles with sports, to a professional basketball player I could never compete with, regardless of training and effort. This disparity is a difference in degree.

Musical intelligence involves a highly developed sense of pitch, rhythm, and tone. This talent ranges from a country music star like Johnny Cash to someone like myself, who can barely hold a note in the church choir—another difference in degree.

Social and Emotional Intelligences

Interpersonal intelligence involves interactions with others. Those with this trait excel at sensing others’ emotions and motivations, often displaying empathy and the ability to nurture. While valuable in all occupations, this intelligence is most critical in roles requiring extensive interaction, such as nursing or social work.

In my opinion, this intelligence also includes mothering and nurturing children. Women often excel in this area and are drawn to professions like nursing. They are far less likely to be arrested for violent crimes and are typically the last to advocate for war.

Interpersonal intelligence is one of the most important for society. How we interact with others can determine whether we become social outcasts, group leaders, or valuable community members. This trait helps restrain aggression.

Intrapersonal intelligence involves self-awareness—a realistic grasp of one’s emotions and limitations. It includes the ability to exert self-discipline, delay instant gratification, and control impulses in stressful situations.

A lack of intrapersonal intelligence can lead to self-destructive behaviors, poor judgment, and criminality. I believe it is as crucial as interpersonal intelligence. Controlling basic urges and restraining irresponsible behavior goes hand-in-hand with positive social interactions.

While free will can influence these traits, they are the only intelligences that can be significantly improved through individual effort.

A lack of intrapersonal intelligence, or the restraints to counter impulsive behavior, drives the growth of the welfare state and single motherhood. (Men are equally responsible in these cases.) I believe a large segment of the population is deficient in this area. Without laws and social pressure, many can become destructive to themselves and others.

This problem is most pronounced in Black communities, where the lack of family structure, breakdown of religious institutions, and inadequate law enforcement have led to situations like the Black riots in major cities in recent years.

Intelligences Tied to IQ and Economic Success

The following three intelligences—spatial, logical-mathematical, and linguistic—are measured on IQ tests and are strong predictors of economic and personal success in a technological and scientific society.

We readily accept differences in degree in sports or music, but when these differences tie into economic and social outcomes, the facts become taboo.

However, high IQ isn’t everything—a high IQ paired with low intrapersonal intelligence can still lead to adverse outcomes. For example, an out-of-control child may exhibit self-destructive behavior despite having highly successful or seemingly normal parents. The Unabomber, Ted Kaczynski, is a prime example: a brilliant mathematician who turned to a one-person terrorism spree due to a lack of emotional intelligence.

High-IQ individuals often achieve tremendous economic success, and financial status typically translates to control over others. Wealthy, activist individuals exert direct influence on the political system, as brilliant and successful people dominate much of our society.

Yet, lacking interpersonal skills, these powerful individuals may have no connection with or empathy for ordinary people, whom they might look down upon or even view with hostility. This can create an economically and socially isolated elite class, segregated from the general public.

This elitism transcends party lines—it’s not about Democrats or Republicans. The power class often sees the public as chess pieces to be manipulated or Lego blocks to be constructed into what they deem best for everyone.

A high-IQ individual lacking intrapersonal intelligence could become a political leader who refuses to listen to reason, potentially destroying millions of lives. Stalin, a brilliant sociopath, exemplifies this danger.

At the Nuremberg Trials, many Nazi officials who committed atrocities showed no remorse and appeared otherwise normal. Many were intelligent and seemed to be good members of their society, yet something was missing in their psyche. They could love their own children at home, then go out and murder others’ children.

Is this a result of upbringing (nurture) or innate genetic traits? The answer is both—roughly 50/50, with wide variation. According to Dr. Charles Murray, how we raise high-IQ children is critical, as they often grow into positions of power.

Spatial Intelligence and Technical Skills

Spatial intelligence refers to the ability to visualize and manipulate objects mentally, such as understanding the inner workings of a device or grasping unseen processes.

For example, in electronics, someone with high spatial intelligence can mentally visualize current flow through a complex circuit, even though the movement of charges is invisible. We only sense electric current when a heating element gets hot.

This talent is largely inherited. You could train a monkey to place parts on an electrical control panel, but give that monkey a blueprint with a different circuit layout and additional components, and it will fail. Worse, change the diagram for every panel, and chaos ensues.

Those with high spatial intelligence can mentally transform abstract symbols and concepts into real-world products that look nothing like the original drawings. Auto mechanics with this ability can analyze complex engine problems, while others merely swap components—a profound difference in degree.

This intelligence also applies to fields like carpentry, architecture, and art, but with varying degrees of ability. A mechanic with high spatial intelligence is likely to be above average in math and science as well. As Dr. Murray notes, these intelligences often correlate.

For instance, a medical doctor with strong spatial ability will also likely excel in verbal and mathematical skills. A mechanic with high spatial intelligence and, say, 70th percentile scores in math and verbal skills, might thrive as a well-paid specialty mechanic, while a lower-paid office manager with a four-year degree faces layoffs and debt.

Logical-Mathematical Intelligence and Educational Outcomes

Logical-mathematical intelligence involves numbers, logic, and abstractions. It works hand-in-hand with spatial intelligence in fields like engineering, computer science, and technical professions.

This intelligence separates a technician from an engineer. Engineering requires mastery of calculus, for example. As a B student in calculus, I have no business attending M.I.T. It would be unwise for me to try—I can handle some engineering and excel at building gadgets, but I can’t design a jet fighter, even if I can fix one.

Like spatial intelligence, logical-mathematical ability is often hardwired at the genetic level. One cannot do calculus without an innate ability to do so, and even then, outcomes vary. This is why so many students struggle with algebra on standardized tests—forget calculus.

This mismatch between innate ability and educational expectations mirrors the crisis in places like California, where high schools graduate students who are not proficient in core subjects. For example, at Oroville High School in 2022, only 25% of students were proficient in math, yet 94% graduated—a clear case of fraudulent diplomas. Proficiency should mean passing; non-proficiency means failing. Pushing students into college without these skills leads to remedial course struggles, dropout, and debt, as they lack the logical-mathematical intelligence required for success in higher education.

Linguistic Intelligence and Societal Power

Linguistic intelligence involves understanding and manipulating language, grasping meanings, and effectively using words. It impacts everything from learning a foreign language with correct grammar to reading this essay. Memory and the ability to store and retrieve information also fall under this category.

Everyone has this intelligence to some degree, but ability varies widely. Law and journalism are prime examples of fields requiring strong linguistic intelligence. Many talk show hosts and politicians started as lawyers.

Nowhere is the public more disadvantaged than by rules and regulations they can’t understand, compounded by the arbitrary interpretations of judges. Many government officials, often former lawyers, know they can usurp power and wealth by burying the public in incomprehensible regulations.

These individuals often lack intrapersonal skills; they won’t acknowledge their limitations and refuse to admit their dogma could be wrong—driven by emotion, not reason. High-IQ people lacking intrapersonal skills can be socially destructive.

In politics, compromise often means the two parties work for their mutual benefit, not the public’s. The public and the ruling class don’t occupy the same world.

Mass Immigration and Economic Disparity

Mass immigration is another point of contention. There is no doubt the mass immigration of millions of low-skilled and illiterate peasants, drains the welfare system and drives wages through the floor.

While Chamber of Commerce Republicans and racial-socialist Democrats differ economically, they often compromise for mutual benefit, locking the general public out of the process. They lack empathy for the common man or woman.

Graph showing Texas math scores from 2009 to 2021 by demographic groups.

Graph showing Texas reading scores from 2009 to 2021 by demographic groups.

The Elite and Societal Divide

IQ and intelligence vary significantly, and those with high IQs are more likely to achieve success, which often translates to power. The power struggle among the elite pits Wall Street corporatism against Democratic racial socialism.

The elite agree on many issues. Consider the massive media consolidation among six giant corporations, which the press is shilling for the Democratic Party. Wall Street and left-wing media may seem like odd allies, but they work together.

Humans are not social constructs—neither are race, reason, or gender. Human outcomes stem from a roughly 50/50 combination of biology/genetics and environment. Changing the environment won’t change biology. It’s time to face the facts and end political correctness.

Humans differ, and abilities vary; that’s what makes us individuals. How we handle these differences determines how civil society functions—we ignore this at our peril. Do we defend individual liberty with protections for minorities, or continue to destroy society’s fabric by using police-state tactics to enforce conformity and pursue unobtainable utopian goals?

Ref. Real Education by Charles Murray, author of The Bell Curve, pp. 18–26.