Eugenics

I have recently been drunkenly expounding the supposed virtues of eugenics. While many of my literate friends may read this as bluster or write it off as cynicism or misanthropy, I have a point, I think. Let the following make up your mind as it may well

Eugenics is not bad, far from it, it is by definition good. Words do not reliably retain the meaning of their definitions. Perhaps a closer look is in order.

Lets clear the air first. Most people hear eugenics and don't think 'like eukaryotes only different'. They think of human beings being locked up en mass for no sane reason. Emaciated faces and general despair. It is a pretty bad scene and it would be uncharacteristicly classless of me to attempt levity when describing it.

So maybe a few definitions are in order.

Sterilization: Rendering an organism incapible of reproduction. Sterile, clean, happy.

Fixing: When you sterilize a broken pet. Now it is fixed and so much happier that its sex hormones are in a jumble.

Ethnic cleansing: Mass sterilization of an ethnic group. Keep in mind that sometimes sterilization takes the form of murder.

So the whole, clean and fixed thing has a bit of negative connotation to it and the language certainly seems to be suggesting a certain fetish for distinction, seperation and cleanliness. We'll talk about why some people dislike contraception another time though. For now I would like to examine some byproducts of eugenics.

Humans have created selective breeding programs since they realized how the whole thing worked (in plants and animals). Probably the most popular term for the results of long term human eugenics programs would be 'domesticated'.

Inbreeding wolves to get dogs, pigs to get faster growing pigs, cattle to get constantly lactating bovine , avians to get constantly menstrating chicks (with a period that is delicious with pig).

A few other achievements. Wheat, corn, irish resistant potato, beans, chickpeas, bananas, Staphylococcus aureus. I think you get the idea.

Most if not all of these interesting genetic experiments were carried out with fixing and sterilization.

The whole thing makes me a mite bit uncomfortable. And not without good cause.

So how does one do this eugenics thing? Well simple. Decide on an idea of 'good' (your miliage will vary), then attempt to impose that idea on a living organism via direct and indirect modification of its DNA. Et voila! Eugenics.

Problems arise when attempting to define good. I won't bother addressing that pile of stupidity here, suffice to say that if one pretends good does not exist, one sees all the good that does.

So eugenics, certainly a mutated and differentially defined term, much maligned and not without fair judgement.

But what possible benefits or future medical advances, breeding rights and patented DNA do we have to look forward to in the future? I will discuss that another time.