4. The inequalities of eugenics

The goal of eugenic fitness was intended, at its most utopian, to improve lives, to help eradicate disease and disability, and to foster productivity. In practice, however, eugenics mostly reinforced rather than dissolved existing class prejudices. ‘The inequalities of eugenics’ shows that it was frequently the poor, ill-educated, and minorities whose reproductive capacity and lifestyle came under attack, and it was women’s sexuality rather than men’s that was closely policed. The disparity between falling birthrates in the developed world and rising rates elsewhere also created racial inequalities in eugenic policies. Reproductive fitness was being undermined as those considered unfit outbred their superiors. Class, gender, and race differences were thus all central eugenic concerns.

1. The world of eugenics

Early in the twentieth century, a powerful union of science and social policy emerged in countries across the world. Eugenics was a movement committed to using the principles of heredity and of statistics to encourage healthy and discourage unhealthy reproduction. Throughout the twentieth century, but especially in the earlier decades, eugenics played a significant role in shaping government policy. ‘The world of eugenics’ outlines the links between eugenics and social reform and the differences between positive and negative eugenics. It discusses how Nazism and eugenics became so closely connected; the rise of eugenics in science and culture worldwide; the approach to eugenics by different religions; and finally the forms of resistance to eugenics.

5. Eugenics after 1945

‘Eugenics after 1945’ clearly shows that the Nuremburg trials did not spell the end of eugenics, though they did tarnish its reputation considerably. Eugenic policies were simply renamed. The urge to improve, to direct, and to control human reproduction in an age of genetic expertise is unlikely to see eugenic desires and aims dissipate. Eugenics remains a movement yielding a variety of views and positions, many of them truly benevolent in intention if not always in application. The emphasis in modern eugenic practice is on individual choice and consumer preference. Proponents of the new reprogenetics hail the prospect of individuals choosing to enhance and improve their offspring, but what about those without the means to participate?

3. Eugenic reproduction

Driven by the dream of improving humanity down the generations, the management of reproduction was the core activity for which eugenicists strived. Although they had many different visions, eugenicists all agreed that their central task was to create for the future a fitter world through healthier reproduction. ‘Eugenic reproduction’ outlines the policies employed worldwide to further this aim: marriage laws; encouraging reproduction through incentives designed to secure healthy and stable population growth among the fit; sex education to inspire responsible reproduction; artificial insemination; birth control; abortion; euthanasia; and sterilization. Sterilization remains the most widely recognized of negative eugenic measures. It was most notably implemented in the United States, Germany, and Scandinavia.

2. Eugenic intelligence

Nothing was more important for eugenicists than intelligence. A means to measure intelligence and identify feeble-mindedness was central to the policies that eugenics promoted. ‘Eugenic intelligence’ explains the definition and classification of feeble-mindedness that resulted in the segregation and incarceration of thousands of people. It outlines the origins of intelligence testing with French psychologists Alfred Binet and Théodore Simon in 1905 and the mass application of intelligence testing that informed the social policies of the early twentieth century. It also explores the belief that feeble-mindedness was the actual cause of undesirable social behaviors; explains the links between race and intelligence; and discusses the critics who rejected the principles behind intelligence testing and disavowed a purely hereditary understanding of intelligence.