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Eugenics and Other Evils: An Argument against the Scientifically Organized State Kindle Edition

by G. K. Chesterton (Author) Format: Kindle Edition

4.4 305 ratings

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G. K. Chesterton’s highly influential treatise on one of the most controversial topics of the early twentieth century

When G. K. Chesterton first published Eugenics and Other Evils in 1922, he seemed to be the lone voice of reason against the fashionable concept of selectively breeding a population for “desirable” traits. Though later generations came to associate eugenics with the horrors of the Third Reich, worldwide support for the philosophy was at an all-time high when Chesterton penned this brave and prophetic work. His unique combination of somber analysis and coruscating wit produces an argument too persuasive to ignore.

Eugenics and Other Evils showcases Chesterton at the height of his rhetorical powers. His discussion of capitalism, socialism, and the concerns that guide our moral decisions is as pertinent today as the day it was penned.

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About the Author

G. K. Chesterton (1874–1936) was a prolific English journalist and author best known for his mystery series featuring the priest-detective Father Brown and for the metaphysical thriller The Man Who Was Thursday. Baptized into the Church of England, Chesterton underwent a crisis of faith as a young man and became fascinated with the occult. He eventually converted to Roman Catholicism and published some of Christianity’s most influential apologetics, including Heretics and Orthodoxy.

Product details

ASIN ‏ : ‎ B014QI1O5G
Publisher ‏ : ‎ Open Road Media (September 22, 2015)
Publication date ‏ : ‎ September 22, 2015
Language ‏ : ‎ English
File size ‏ : ‎ 2287 KB
Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Sticky notes ‏ : ‎ On Kindle Scribe
Print length ‏ : ‎ 113 pages

Best Sellers Rank: #310,232 in Kindle Store (See Top 100 in Kindle Store)
- #30 in Ethnic Studies (Kindle Store)
- #44 in Science Essays & Commentary (Kindle Store)
- #167 in Science Essays & Commentary (Books)

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G.K. Chesterton

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G. K. Chesterton (1874-1936) was a prolific English journalist and author best known for his mystery series featuring the priest-detective Father Brown and for the metaphysical thriller The Man Who Was Thursday. Baptized into the Church of England, Chesterton underwent a crisis of faith as a young man and became fascinated with the occult. He eventually converted to Roman Catholicism and published some of Christianity's most influential apologetics, including Heretics and Orthodoxy.

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Deacon Bill

There is no better source

Reviewed in the United States on March 27, 2024

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G.K. Chesterton was the voice of reason on this topic in the UK. It was his efforts and grasp of critical logic that prevented further laws in the UK. In 1972 the whole Eugenics thing of mandated sterilization came tumbling down when it was realized that racial minorities, the poor, the disabled had all been legally abused to the tune of tens of thousands of innocent lives here in the US, of all places. Some people think we are long past it. But given the current rise in supremacy coupled with a reduction in people actually reading direct sources of information, Chesterton becomes more important than ever. We had no voice in the US on this topic, only a mass bandwagon based in misinformation and lack of critical thinking. That is happening again for the same reasons. Read this book. It is again rising in applicability and relevance. And it is Public Domain.

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New Age of Barbarism

The Evils of the Scientifically Managed State.

Reviewed in the United States on July 9, 2004

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In the book _Eugenics and Other Evils_, Roman Catholic writer G. K. Chesterton takes on the eugenists and their immoral and unethical program for human breeding. At the time, eugenists (among both the Social Darwinist "Right" and the Socialist Left) proposed various methods for interfering with human breeding to promote a social agenda and impact the human population. One form of eugenics, referred to as "positive eugenics", sought to increase the birthrate of the "fit" (mainly the upper, educated classes) through incentive programs. Another form of eugenics, referred to as "negative eugenics", sought to decrease the birthrate of the "unfit" (mainly the lower classes, the "mentally feeble", and chronically ill populations) through birth control (or even more diabolical means, later on, such as abortion or euthanasia). Chesterton takes on both forms of eugenics as well as the "birth controllers", both of whom planned on limiting the rights of those deemed "mentally feeble" to procreate, and shows through a series of paradoxes exactly how immoral, unethical, and downright mean their program is. Chesterton's condemnations of this program are consistent with his Roman Catholic beliefs and the condemnation of both eugenics and birth control by subsequent popes. It is for this reason that many involved in the birth control movement came to label Chesterton as a "deeply reactionary man" who stood in the way of progress. In his book _The Servile State_, Chesterton's friend and fellow writer Hilaire Belloc notes how society is progressing in a direction towards servility, in which more and more will work for less and less, collectively losing their liberties. Belloc contrasted this state of affairs to the current capitalist state (run according to the principles of competition and greed, amounting to plutocracy) and that state dreamed up by socialist reformers (calling for the elimination of property rights, and thus a complete suppression of liberty), both of which Belloc regarded as immoral and un-Christian. As an alternative, Belloc proposed a "distributivist state" which would allow for mass ownership of private property and the means of production, while curtailing the evils of monopoly capitalism run amok. Like Belloc, Chesterton too advocates a distributivist state, championing property while at the same time pointing to the excesses of monopoly capitalism and plutocracy-oligarchy. In addition, Chesterton notes that while the "servile state" is upon us, so is the "eugenic state" in which the right to marriage and procreation will be limited by the elite controllers within the state. Chesterton points out how diabolical and grossly unfair this situation is, with plenty of recourse to his usual writing style and witticism. As Chesterton notes, within the current state of affairs, those among the lower classes and the poor do not stand a chance, their rights to property being denied them (contrary to the situation that existed within the Middle Ages, where a serf could at least maintain a right to property), and are often imprisoned unfairly or abused by the system. Chesterton sees within the eugenics movement another form of abuse (particularly of the poor and those deemed "feeble minded"). Indeed, much of this book is spent critiquing various legislative actions taken against the so called "feeble minded", which Chesterton shows to be a term without meaning, being used merely as a slur against certain unpopular and not well liked individuals among the lower classes. To explain the rise of eugenics Chesterton examines the social Darwinist views of the capitalist class. As Chesterton notes, many of those in the highest class have swung full spectrum from the Socialist Left to the extreme "Right" as they accumulate wealth and advance plutocracy. In America, robber barons such as Rockefeller notoriously funded the eugenics movement, in an attempt to further his power and as Chesterton cynically notes to provide workers for his business. Indeed, the documented evidence against Rockefeller's involvement in such immoralities is enormous and certainly merits additional study. While many of those who supported eugenics (and especially birth control) consisted of those among the Socialist Left, Chesterton notes that these individuals remain largely dupes to their elite controllers, as well as radical feminists who fail to understand the true virtues of womanhood. Certainly these radical feminists (almost entirely composed of women from the upper classes, coincidentally) do not represent the vast majority of the female race, who are certainly not opposed to motherhood, whether or not they personally desire to become mothers themselves. These sorts of observations of Chesterton would prove especially prescient, especially in light of the events that were to come during the Second World War (as well as the evils of the Soviet state bureaucracy) and the modern day legalization of abortion and proliferation of birth control methods. While eugenists maintain that they are champions of the poor or of the unborn child, as Chesterton shows they are merely evil individuals among the elite classes whose sole interest is limiting the growth of "undesirable" elements within society, or alarmist Malthusians. This essay of Chesterton reveals him as a champion of liberty and individualism against the encroaching influence of a maleficent state, under the control of elite plutocrats, as well as a compassionate individual who truly cares for the human person. The book ends with a series of compiled pieces from various eugenics journals and birth control writers, noting their diabolical features as well as their arrogant criticism of Chesterton and Belloc.

46 people found this helpful

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Ingdur

probably easier for English people

Reviewed in the United States on April 9, 2022

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I like the book, but because it was written quite some time ago, the reference to the people was lost on me. The main threat still is actual though, because Eugenists are still amongst us. And they are still doing what they were doing in Chesterton's days, and using and abusing people the same way. A good read for all those wary of people trying to harm others.

2 people found this helpful

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Xiamen Tiger

Forceful and relevant

Reviewed in the United States on September 15, 2013

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This is an intellectual and ethical tour de force. It is one of those books that, though written long ago, is startlingly still cogent and relevant to today's issues. I cannot believe that a book of this sharpness and importance is available for free on Kindle.

I think many will tend to pass this book by because of its title. It is ostensibly only or mostly about Eugenics. Passersby will think that the Eugenics movement, having been discredited by its actual application to the logical extreme (genocide) in the decades after Chesterton left us, is no longer relevant as a controversy. But you might try reading this text and replacing the word "Eugenics" with the name of one of today's politically correct sacred cows. Ask yourself if it works. Try "Universal Centralized Health Care" or "Health Care Rationing." Or try "Abortion." In fact, this book jarred me into awareness of this question: Is today's Pro-Abortion movement really just a continuation of the old Eugenics movement, repackaged and relabeled in the hope of finding new acceptance after its earlier (but only temporary) rejection after revelations of its true and ultimate nature, when Eisenhower's men probed the grounds of the concentration camps?

No review of a Chesterton book is complete without a quotation of some passage that is particularly perceptive or powerful, and that has etched itself into the reviewer's consciousness. For this book, this is the passage: "There is no freedom for [any man] except in some sort of private ownership of things like water and fire. If he owned his own well his water could never be cut off, and while he sits by his own fire his pipe can never be put out. That is the real meaning of property, and the real argument against Socialism; probably the only argument against Socialism."

As a companion to this book, it might be helpful also to read "The Servile State" by Hilaire Belloc (also available on Amazon). Would that we had another Chesterton today!

9 people found this helpful

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Andrew S. Breza

Stunning indictment of eugenics and other ways of oppressing everyday people

Reviewed in the United States on September 6, 2023

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Based on the title, I expected a book narrowly focused on the lies underpinning eugenics. Instead, Chesterton offers a full throated defense of the working class against efforts of the elite to scientifically manage their lives. While eugenics has thankfully faded from acceptable conversation, parts of this book feel strikingly modern.

3 people found this helpful

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Joseph Myren

AWESOME

Reviewed in Canada on September 26, 2023

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AWESOME

Ricardo C.

Vale a pena ter este clássico

Reviewed in Brazil on April 8, 2021

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Ótima edição

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Ragdoll Radio

A great warning.

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on February 15, 2015

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Such a great book by a great author. Still relevant today. Nice to read a clear and lucid mind talk commonsense. A rare thing these days. Chesterton's foresight, compassion and wit shine a light of truth to the present day.

4 people found this helpful

william thompson

Four Stars

Reviewed in Canada on April 19, 2016

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Excellent as the time were in now

3 people found this helpful

charlesjohnson

Soberin

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on January 24, 2020