Genocide and Crimes Against Humanity | Utilitarian Genocide

The pioneer genocide scholar Vahakn Dadrian introduced the concept of "utilitarian genocide" in a landmark 1975 article, "A Typology of Genocide." He identified five "ideal types" of genocide, based mainly on the primary objective of the perpetrator:

• cultural genocide, aiming at assimilation;
• latent genocide, a by-product of war;
• retributive genocide, localized punishment;
• utilitarian genocide, to obtain wealth;
• optimal genocide, aiming at total obliteration;

As examples of utilitarian genocides, Dadrian cited the atrocities committed against Moors and Jews in the course of dispossesing them of businesses during the Spanish Inquisition, the forced removal and "decimation" of the Cherokees in the U.S. southern state of Georgia in 1829, and the ongoing enslavement and killing of Indians in Brazil.

Even though some contemporary scholars use expressions such as...