control the dark history and troubling present of eugenics

In the Victorian era eugenics, a full-blooded attempt to impose control over unruly biology, began to grow among the powerful and quickly spread to dozens of countries around the world. How did an obscure academic idea pave the way to the Holocaust within just fifty years?Why does eugenics still loom large in the 21st century, despite its genocidal past?Did eugenics work? Could it work? Or was it always a pseudoscientific fantasy? Throughout history, people have sought to reduce suffering, eliminate disease and enhance desirable qualities in their children. A short, highly directed guide to an area of science that is little understood but increasingly part of public discourse by the Sunday Times bestselling author of HOW TO ARGUE WITH A RACIST Shipping may be from our UK warehouse or from our Australian or US warehouses, depending on stock availability.Language: English. To know this history is to inoculate ourselves against its being repeated.

It is an urgently needed examination that unpicks one of the defining and most destructive ideas of the twentieth century. CONTROL tells the story of attempts by the powerful throughout history to dictate reproduction and regulate the interface of breeding and society. Today, with new gene editing techniques, very real conversations are happening - including in the heart of British government - about tinkering with the DNA of our unborn children, to make them smarter, fitter, stronger. The legacy of eugenics persists in our language and literature, from the words 'moron' and 'imbecile' to the themes of some of our greatest works of culture. But the underlying ideas are not merely historical. It was also a cornerstone of Nazi ideology, and forged a path that led directly to the gates of Auschwitz. Eugenics was vigorously embraced in dozens of countries.

It was enshrined in a political movement that bastardised science, and for sixty years enjoyed bipartisan and huge popular support. In the Victorian era, in the shadow of Darwin's ideas about evolution, a new full-blooded attempt to impose control over our unruly biology began to grow in the clubs, salons and offices of the powerful. But this wish goes hand in hand with the desire to impose control over who can marry, who can procreate and who is permitted to live. Throughout history, people have sought to improve society by reducing suffering, eliminating disease or enhancing desirable qualities in their children.

Control the dark history and troubling present of eugenics