For the purpose of this thread, I am going to ask you to assume there is some element of truth to the principles of genetics & races having some identifiable correlation.
That being said, I feel that what Hitler did (specifically in reference to forced-sterilization of those deemed mentally incompetent)was not very nice at all, and that he should be ashamed of himself.
See, even if Adolf and the gang (actually this extends far beyond germans. Winston Churchill, and a cousin of Darwin were both supporters of the theory) were onto something, denying people the right to experience parenthood just ain’t right.
But more over, getting rid of stupid people is a silly notion. I think societies thrive on them. Just as we used to breed oxen for manual labor, we need to continue allowing the weaker humans (and I assume I’m one of these btw) to breed so that they can carry out the work of the smart folks…they must give us our groceries, drive our cabs, and build our websites.
fuck eugenics, i for one opt for 21st century slavery.
Who wants to have kids with them? Simple…the other stupid ppl. Thus begeting exponentially stupider ppl. I didn’t mention the USA b/c I didn’t see it necessary to state the obvious…but it seems very clear that america is the product of this process
err that bit of canuck humour might not go over well with some folks, oh well…
anyways, i guess my op perhaps comes down to the question of whether or not a well-informed populace is a good thing. Though it superceeds “information” theory, because we are now talking about hard-coded practice, whereby nothing can be done to reverse the effects.
Eugenics isn’t necessary for the simple reason that environmental damage can be much more extreme and is far more easily prevented, i.e. “idiocy” was commonly believed to be inherited, but it turns out to be largely caused by iodine deficiencies. Solution: distribute iodized salt.
There are a few inheritable diseases like hemophilia, cystic fibrosis and Parkinson’s, but if you really want to improve society, don’t waste you dough on eugenics; spend it instead on socialized prenatal care, free vitamin and mineral supplements for mothers and children, better K-12 education and reducing lead and mercury exposure from industrial pollutants. Any of those will have a much larger effect than trying to pair people up based on some vague pseudoscientific profile and waiting a few generations.
Ironically, I’m not even a communist. It simply makes good capitalist sense to ensure children’s health so they can afford to pay my retirement benefits.
what will you do when robots, machines or something else does most of the uneducated labor? 50 years ago, only like 10% (i am probably wrong on that stat, i heard it years ago) of americans graduated high school. Now you need a diploma or GED to get pretty much any job. around 50% of americans went to college. In 50 years, you will probably need a specialized graduate degree to thrive.
What will the stupid people do then? move to kentucky, like they did during the last industrial revolution? then what.
That statistic (10% of people graduated High School) is dead wrong. AT the minimum (in rural states) it as closer to 33% or so. Certainly the rate was lower, since only a slight majority of jobs required it.
As for Calc’s Q bout higher requirements for education, I think the answer is that the slaves will simply be better trained. Instead of doing our manual labour, I see things like computer-programming as being the bricklaying of the future, or website building, or tech-support.
Eugenics is not simply about erradicating stupid people.
It is about engineering a “superior” human through the use of selective breeding.
By superior I mean carrying more desirable genes (e.g. intelligence) and less undesireable genes (e.g. hemophilia).
Eugenics has been given a very bad press because of the way people went about it, enforced sterilisation of those considered “genetically unfit”, a term which was used mainly to descriminate against people.
Foreign? - genertically unfit
Poor? - genetically unfit
Radical ideas? - genetically unfit
Don’t fit in? - genetically unfit
IMO the theory behind eugenics is a good one. Who wouldn’t want our species to be free from inherited disorders? But to put it into practise? nuh-uh.
Logical who is gonna do my cleaning or cook my dinner or build my house while I’m busy designing websites?
(Also, I’m not sure I like your comment that “weaker people” design websites. (whether or not you class yourself as one as your saving grace).
Yes, I’ve seen sites designed by stupid people, I’ve been in cabs driven by brainless morons, but to imply that these jobs are only fit for the “lesser humans” is somewhat insulting.)
Tir: I really appreciate your insight and find your points very strong.
I think we both have valid arguments about specific jobs and their relationships to intellegence, however I’m willing to admit that there is always a gray area, ie cabdrivers with phDs or artist that goes into webdesign for the hell of it.
I mean, at the end of the day, whatever makes you happy is a good job. But to imply that there are some garbagemen that could make good lawyers, or construction workers that could develop cancer vaccines is not an acturate reflection of the world we live in.
it seems the line I will continue to fall back on is that in order to have a functional society, we need ppl with low IQs (or however else you want to guage intelligence).
But some garbagemen could have been good lawyers. I remember a neighbor of ours, if he had grown up in a middle-class family he would probably be heading a company right now… but mostly because of how his attitudes were shaped as a child he drives trucks whenever he needs some dough… also, why do you assume that so-called stupid people will have children that are exponentally more stupid?? And by what criteria would you assign occupation? I’m pretty good at writing English essays, but I would go crazy if I had to do it for a living. Because we have always had people with low IQs, our society has evolved to some extent to deal with this fact. If we all had high IQs, we’d probably just build robots or else gasp do things ourselves.
In addition, why do you feel that people with low IQs don’t need to be paid for what they do? There’s an organization in my area that provides work (among other things) for people with low IQs. They are paid for this work, as well they should be.
slavery these days has changed colors in order to blend in.
exponential stupidity can be viewed many ways. Assuming its genetic (as I stated in my original post, and no there is no hard science for this), then its simple math.
But if intelligence is sociological, I think the same rule still applies.
