Control : the dark history and troubling present of eugenics
Rutherford, Adam2022
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Click and Collect for Control : the dark history and troubling present of eugenicsThroughout history, people have sought to improve society by reducing suffering, eliminating disease or enhancing desirable qualities in their children. But this wish goes hand in hand with the desire to impose control over who can marry, who can procreate and who is permitted to live. In the Victorian era, in the shadow of Darwin's ideas about evolution, a new full-blooded attempt to impose control over our unruly biology began to grow in the clubs, salons and offices of the powerful. It was enshrined in a political movement that bastardised science, and for sixty years enjoyed bipartisan and huge popular support. Eugenics was vigorously embraced in dozens of countries. It was also a cornerstone of Nazi ideology, and forged a path that led directly to the gates of Auschwitz. But the underlying ideas are not merely historical. The legacy of eugenics persists in our language and literature, from the words 'moron' and 'imbecile' to the themes of some of our greatest works of culture. Today, with new gene editing techniques, very real conversations are happening - including in the heart of British government - about tinkering with the DNA of our unborn children, to make them smarter, fitter, stronger. CONTROL tells the story of attempts by the powerful throughout history to dictate reproduction and regulate the interface of breeding and society. It is an urgently needed examination that unpicks one of the defining and most destructive ideas of the twentieth century. To know this history is to inoculate ourselves against its being repeated.
Main title:
Control : the dark history and troubling present of eugenics / Adam Rutherford.
Author:
Rutherford, Adam, author
Imprint:
London : Weidenfeld & Nicolson, 2022.©2022
Collation:
ix, 278 pages ; 23 cm.
Notes:
"Population control, immigration control, social control, reproductive control, biological control, genetic control, disease control, government control, quality control, beyond control, lose control"--Cover.Includes bibliographical references and index.
Contents:
Introduction -- Quality control -- Same as it ever was.
ISBN:
9781474622387 (hbk)9781474622387
Dewey class:
363.9209363.92
Language:
English
Subject:
BRN:
510659
More Information:
Location | Collection | Call number | Status/Desc |
---|---|---|---|
Beaumaris Library | Adult Non Fiction - Society and Beliefs | 363.92 RUT | Onloan - Due: 21 Aug 2024 |
Find it!
Total copies: 1
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Click and Collect for Control : the dark history and troubling present of eugenics