Eugenics

Eugenics is a broad term for policies aimed at the genetic improvement of the human race. Whereas most people are familiar with the eugenic practices of the Nazi Party, fewer realize the widespread international use of such practices, both before and after World War II. Derived from the Greek word meaning “well born,” eugenics falls into two types: positive and negative. Positive eugenics is encouraging people with “good genes” to reproduce, whereas negative eugenics refers to discouraging reproduction by [Page 338]people with “bad genes.” Often these policies are couched in terms of the “fit” and the “unfit.”

Unlike social Darwinism, which argues that social systems will, if left alone, provide checks against poor breeding, eugenics implies an active role for the state. Eugenic programs include forced sterilization for those deemed unfit, as well as the criminalization of abortion for the fit. The definition of fitness is, of course, socially constructed and reflects the biases and agendas of those in power, as well as the state of scientific knowledge at the time of implementation. Although overt eugenics programs, such as murder and compulsive sterilization, fell out of favor (at least publicly) after World War II, the ideology of eugenics is still very much alive.

Programs of selected breeding have existed since the time of the ancient Greeks. Plato wrote in The Republic that the “best men” should reproduce with the “best women” as often as possible and that the “inferior” should reproduce as little as possible. The Spartans also practiced passive eugenics, leaving newborn infants in the elements to determine their physical hardiness. During the 1860s, Sir Francis Galton, a cousin of Charles Darwin, systematized the ideas behind this history and titled them eugenics. Galton argued that behavioral and personality traits, such as criminality and intelligence, were linked to genes. As social welfare programs grew, he argued, society was effectively preventing the human species from ridding itself of the genes responsible for society's ills.