Bio: (1926-2018) British anthropologist and sociologist. Michael Banton graduated from the London School of Economics in 1950 and received his Ph.D. from the University of Edinburgh on the subject of immigrants in East London. He taught social anthropology at the University of Edinburgh and sociology at the University of Bristol. In a series of books, he dealt with the problems of racial relations in Britain, the reduction of racial discrimination, and theories of race. In his book Racial Theories (1987), Banton singled out three types of race theories: 1) theories that view race as a lineage; 2) theories that view race as a type; 3) theories that see race as a subspecies.

The first type of theory assumes the common biological origin of all races, which at some historical moment began to differ due to geographical or other differences. Theories that see race as a type assume the polygenetic origin of races, that is, that different races evolved from different biological species. Theories that see race as a subspecies are somewhere between the first two types of theories. These theories assume a common biological origin, but also the existence of great biological differences, and they originate from the teachings of Charles Darwin, who believed that different races do not have the full ability to produce fertile offspring, which is a necessary condition for different populations to be counted as the same species. Banton applied the theory of rational action to the study of racial relations. He believes that the term race, in its colloquial use, has no theoretical value.

From 1996 to 1998, Banton was chairman of the United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination. In his book Policeman in the Community (1964), he did a comparative analysis of the police in Scotland and the United States, and this is one of the first sociological studies of the police.

Main works

The Policeman in the Community (1964);

Race Relations (1967);

Racial Minorities (1972);

Police-Community Relations (1973);

The Idea of Race (1977);

Racial Theories (1987);

The International Politics of Race (2002).