Human Genetic Engineering: Chapter 8, Eugenics: Learning from the Past

	CHAPTER 8 EUGENICS: LEARNING FROM THE PAST

	Eugenics is a mindset more than a program. In its original form, it was paternalistic rather than simply dictatorial, and it is important to recognize that it was Anglo-American: The originator was British and it was developed and codified as law in the US — the German Nazis learned from the Americans. Modern advocates of human GE usually disavow eugenics. They think that because they rely on consumerism rather than state coercion they are engaged in something different. They are quite wrong: What they are trying to do is exactly what the original eugenicists wanted to do. To understand how dangerous these ideas still are, it is important to consider the history of eugenics, and to remember that progressives of the early twentieth century were as likely to subscribe to it as conservatives. It was a bad idea then; we must not get fooled again. This chapter's section titles, below, are followed by a list of the text boxes the chapter's short introduction the annotated FURTHER READING list, which includes expanded links to Free Documents from the Web and a short list of recommended Books There are many more resources in the Appendix.

	INTRODUCTION STILL "IMPROVING" SOCIETY? REVIVING EUGENICS THE GROWTH OF ORGANIZED EUGENICS THE CASE OF CARRIE BUCK AND HER FAMILY POSITIVE EUGENICS NEGATIVE EUGENICS BLURRING THE LINES AFFECTING THE GERMLINE MARKET FORCES COMPARED WITH STATE INTERVENTION FURTHER READING BOX 8.1 Who Supported Eugenics? BOX 8.2 Eugenics and US Immigration Law BOX 8.3 Nazi Eugenics: The American Connection BOX 8.4 Progressives And Eugenics

	INTRODUCTION Eugenics has become a term of abuse, and for very good reason. It represents an idea that caused misery, in the twentieth century, to an extent that is almost incredible. In Nazi Germany, it led to genocide. But eugenics was not only advocated by fascists and their supporters. It was always essentially about attempts to "improve" the human race, and this is a goal that over the years has been adopted not only by vicious racists but also by well-meaning progressives, as well as social conservatives and intellectuals from all across the political spectrum. If this were just history, it would still be important to remember, to pass on, and to learn from. But it's not. Far from it. It's coming back. If we are to avoid tragedies, both similar to and different from those of the past, it is important that we see eugenics for what it was — an appalling but originally well-intentioned idea — and we must understand how closely the modern advocates of human genetic engineering follow its fundamental concepts. ...

	FURTHER READING Free Documents from the Web Links were checked and functioning as of 5/09/05; they are supposed to open in new windows. Please report broken ones. The former home of the Eugenics Record Office, the Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, now in penance hosts an excellent archive including critical analysis and a substantial bibliography. Articles include: Garland E. Allen, "Flaws in Eugenics Research" Paul Lombardo, "Eugenics Laws Restricting Immigration" Paul Lombardo, "Eugenic Sterilization Laws" Jan Witkowski, "Traits Studied By Eugenicists" A more provocative exploration of the history and issues from a radical Christian viewpoint, with a particular focus on current "crypto-eugenics" is at Eugenics Watch. Barry Mehler, "Brief History of European and American Eugenics Movements," excerpted from his Ph.D. thesis for the University of Illinois. Ruth Hubbard, "Eugenics, Reproductive Technologies and 'Choice'," Genewatch, 01/01, brings the story up to date. Her "Eugenics and the Human Genome Project," Genewatch, 07/00, is no longer on the web, unfortunately. Alexander Cockburn and Jeffrey St. Clair, "Eugenics: The Impulse Never Dies," CounterPunch, 03/06/00

	Books Edwin Black, War Against the Weak: Eugenics and America's Campaign to Create a Master Race, Four Walls Eight Windows, New York, 2003 Daniel Kevles, In the Name of Eugenics: Genetics and the Uses of Human Heredity, Harvard University Press, 1985, revised 1995, is the classic history. Stephen J. Gould, The Mismeasure of Man, W.W. Norton, revised 1996, is not strictly about eugenics, though it touches on the subject, but assaults the eugenic mindset with unparalleled rigor. David Galton, In Our Own Image: Eugenics and the Genetic Modification of People, Little, Brown and Company, London, 2001, is an attempt to update and rehabilitate the concept by a British Professor of Genetics who appears to be a liberal; he condemns past abuses while advocating a modern version. Richard Lynn, Eugenics: A Reassessment, Praeger Publishers, 2001, is included (unread) mostly to prove that it exists. A former professor of psychology at the University of Ulster, he's in favor not of genocide but of "phasing out" what he has called "the population of incompetent cultures."