Eugenics entails set of beliefs and practices geared at improving the genetic quality of the human population. Several scholars hold different versions of what eugenics exactly entails. In the Second World War, the science of Eugenics was clearly brought into action where different principles of breeding were applied to the human population. This was specifically undertaken to instill control of the population’s genetic stock (Omi & Winant2014). In some European countries, they advocated for higher rates of sexual reproduction among people with positive Eugenics as opposed to people with negative Eugenics. Positive Eugenics refers to desired features or traits that were seen viable to sexual reproduction while negative Eugenics referred to those unwanted or undesired features in a person that wouldn’t be fit for sexual reproduction such as mental & physical disabilities, low IQ levels, criminals as well as members from disfavored minority groups.
Modern Eugenics started way back early 20th century stretching from mid 19th century when a prominent Eugenics wave started in the United Kingdom then it spread to many other European countries including the United States s well as being exercised in parts of Canada. The Eugenics ideologies stretched along political paradigm having in mind the gearing power of increasing the human population genetic stock (Stern, 2015). Many European countries adopted the movement through introducing programs believed to increase human population. Such programs included encouraging individuals deemed to possess’ positive Eugenics to reproduce at higher rates whereas prohibiting those perceived to have negative Eugenics from marriages.
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Towards the end of Second World War, Eugenics movement was negatively associated with undermining human race by abusing people’s human rights. As a result, people moved to courts to seek justice and stoppage to the very movement. This was greatly backed up by the establishment of the human right institutions although some of the countries exercising the movement strongly opposed the step to bring to an end of the Eugenics movement and instead continued exercising it. Such countries included the United States. Criticisms emerged accusing the movement of violating human rights as well as loss of genetic diversity.
Psychology involvement in the Eugenics movement provided perspective options from which Eugenics could be looked at. It can either be treated as a science or practice. According to Galtonian’s argument, Eugenics involved the study of aspects or agencies under social control which may improve or impair the inborn qualities of the future generations. In science perspective is the utilization of medicines in achieving the human quality desired. As many lives were lost due to the practice of eugenics movement, Charles and Galton took the step to quench the loss by advocating for the termination of the movement. Charles came up with a movement known as Darwinism which covered a wide range of evolutionary ideas addressing the Eugenics movement. He further argued that natural selection was much far better than the very artificial selective methods used in Eugenics movement.
Eugenics movement had a significant impact on the US immigration policy. This was witnessed when eugenic ideas where being prioritized so as to limit the number of immigrants perceived to be from ethnic groups with inferior eugenicist traits and pave way for the immigration of the biologically superior eugenicists (Stern, 2015). Laws were enacted to limit the immigration only to the desired types. Dr. Kennerley newspaper tried to address the movement where he clearly addressed the intentional targeting of racial divisions based on the negative and positive eugenics.
References
Omi, M., & Winant, H. (2014). Racial formation in the United States . Routledge.
Stern, A. M. (2015). Eugenic nation: Faults and frontiers of better breeding in modern America . Univ of California Press.
