Eugenics and Other Evils

In his political essay, Eugenics and Other Evils, G.K. Chesterton weighs in on this debate, with his usual wit. In his time, eugenics mainly translated into controlling marriages. Indeed, it seems the British MPs of the time were considering in earnest the possibility to translate such a project into law. But in Chesterton's view, the aim of the people who vindicate eugenics “is to prevent any person whom these propagandists do not happen to think intelligent from having any wife or children. Every tramp who is sulky, every labourer who is shy, every rustic who is eccentric, can quite easily be brought under such conditions as were designed for homicidal maniacs”.