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Modern and Progressive Eugenics

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Modern eugenics is a driving force for social growth and a representation of scientific progression. Galton’s ideas of positive and negative eugenics are recognized in America as a two fold aim to solving current day human social problems and creating better overall humans (Paul, 4). Positive eugenics encourages procreation among the robust, intelligent people while discouraging less intelligent and less privileged individuals from doing so. Negative Eugenics currently has a more “proactive” approach by limiting the reproduction of individuals who are less educated, who are generally more associated with the working class. I believe that positive eugenics is more valuable than negative eugenics because its goals, public health and national survival, can be obtained through advertisement and reinforcement of fit genes without needing to take hostile legislative actions. The success of positive eugenics can be contributed to the high volume of eugenics literature we see in modern American society (Paul, 11). Wealthy organizations such as the Carnegie Foundation, the Rockefeller Foundation, and individual donors provide the majority of funding necessary to discover new information and data about the mechanisms of eugenics and the importance it plays in our society. Biologist and current leader of the American eugenics movement, Charles Davenport, is a strong advocate for positive genetics. He has expressed his passion for the movement by reaching out to wealthy investors in an attempt to fund his eugenics research and publications (Paul, 13). Sponsored advertisement of his research on the importance of fit genes spread to distinguished magazines, newspapers, books, and even school curricula in American schools. This helps to promote educated young adults to understand the importance of finding the right mate to ensure their offspring have the best possible heritable traits. Without these sponsored advertisements, these young ad

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