I received a question from Owen, a regular contributor, as to my attitude towards eugenics, posted on this blog. I agree with the points made by Owen, and would add the following.
First, a Webster definition: “Eugenics is a “science” that tries to improve the human race by controlling which people become parents”.
There has historically been pressure to avoid the potential societal “burden” of the “wrong” sort of foetus, commonly a child born with Down’s Syndrome. In America the eugenicists, over the years, tried to highlight which sectors of society were suitable to survive for the future and which were not. They suggested that those deemed “unfit” for society should be excluded by restrictions on immigration and by enforced sterilisation. This, of course, implied favouring people of white ancestry.
I think Epicureans reject the idea of eugenics as being cruel, racist and elitist, taking no account of the humanity of the child and the love of the parents. Firstly, the mother should have the right to choose before the birth, and afterwards it is the business only of the family to decide on the trajectory of the child. Secondly, who is to make the god-like decision as to who should survive and who should not? Some politician trying to breed a race that will conform to his world view and the colour of his skin? Do we want to see such a choices being made? And thirdly, Epicureanism celebrates a diversity of intelligence and ability that makes this world so fascinating. It stands for tolerance and decent, civilised behaviour towards others, and is (or should be) non-judgmental. No master race! We despatched that idea in 1945.
Behind the attitudes espoused by Trump lies a closet eugenicist. Trump biographer Michael D’Antonio explains that Trump was raised to believe that success is genetic, and that some people are just superior to others: “The Trump family subscribes to a racehorse theory of human development. They believe that there are superior people and that if you put together the genes of a superior woman and a superior man, you get a superior offspring”.
This recalls Mussolini and the fascists, who believed, like Hitler, in breeding a master race. A natural extension of this (fallacious) thought is that therefore we should eliminate all those who fall below a certain level of IQ, or are born with Down’s Syndrome.
The fact is that most parents of Down’s Syndrome are loving, caring people who devote a large part of their lives to the welfare of their offspring. What right has anyone else to say that such a child should or should not be kept alive?
If the Trump family were to believe that, it would certainly explain not only Trump’s prejudices, but also his absolute self confidence that he can fix everything wrong with America, despite the constitutional limits on the powers of the presidency.
But as for the attitudes of Trump himself, its not so much that some people are inherently superior to others. Its more that whoever praises Trump is capable of anything, whereas those who criticise or ridicule him have no redeemable qualities at all. This black and while view of people is childishly simplistic, and it shows that Trump is a stupid man, totally unqualified to be president.
I agree and, to me, this is the key question–as you say: “[W]ho is to make the god-like decision as to who should survive and who should not?”