If you want to know about social engineering then take a look at Aldous Huxley's Brave New World. In this "ideal" world everyone is happy and well and everyone dies at the age of 60. This futuristic world is extreme in which there are five castes and nobody looks for social mobility because everyone is happy just where they are. There is significant irony in this book. It was written in the 1930s when someone called Adolf was talking about an Aryan race but people like Jesse Owens were putting holes in his argument.
The problem is that some people don't see the irony. On the news last night was an American charity that was offering money to drug addicts if they are sterilised. I didn't hear any mention of which drugs had to be used. Did they include alcohol? It doesn't really matter. What does matter is that we are telling people with drugs problems that they are sub-human not worthy of having children. If we start to pick on drug addicts with extreme problems then I can see that some readers may be saying this is not a bad idea. Well that's what Adolf thought.
If you want to ban things that are bad for you and sterilise those who practice things that are harmful then do we include that great killer alcohol or being near motor vehicles? If we want to stay safe then the best bet is to stay in bed.
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"It was written in the 1030s"
ReplyDeleteI don't think so! Typo there!
Much as I am of the view that there are far too many people on the planet already (a number to which I have not contributed by choice) the idea of targetting vulnerable people for permanent contraception is repugnant.
Correction made - thanks.
ReplyDeleteIt's funny how no-one seems to mention the scheme that was going on in USA. I know Hitler was bad, but the USA scheme is quietly brushed under the carpet. Jodi Picoult covers the USA eugenics scheme in her novel Second Glance.
ReplyDeleteI think you are right Sea. We are desensitised to a lot of things that are wrong and simply don't see them as wrong and that means they don't make headlines.
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