G. K. Chesterton

Eugenics and Other Evils G. K. Chesterton

G K Chesterton wrote 'Eugenics and Other Evils' over 90 years ago, as a warning against the new 'science' of eugenics. It was a bold act at a time when US president Woodrow Wilson was an avid supporter of 'scientific breeding' and even Winston Churchill believed that "the multiplication of the feeble-minded cannot go on unchecked." Wielding his formidable insight and wit - and with remarkable prescience - Chesterton deconstructs the absurdities of the Eugenicist movement and points to its potential for ill-use, dangers which came to their full, terrible fruition in the Nazi destruction of the mentally ill and the horrors of the Holocaust. Despite its age, this is a surprisingly contemporary book. Modern-day Genetics, which offers tests claiming to reveal 'weaknesses' such as mental instability, susceptibility to illness, or a low IQ, make it plain that eugenic 'solutions' are even more plausible today than when Chesterton first wrote this timely and thought-provoking analysis.