Eugenics and Other Evils

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Eugenics and Other Evils by G. K. Chesterton

G. K. Chesterton was a writer and a public figure of many talents, well-known as a lay theologian, a journalist, a literary critic, an orator, a poet and a philosopher. Chesterton’s writings are alive and pertinent – they have as much to say to the reader in the second decade of the 21st century as they used to when they came out of print the first time.

Eugenics and Other Evils is an excellent example of Chesterton’s extraordinary writing style and his way of making his point – after all, he used to be called “the prince of paradox” for a reason. In this collection, Chesterton criticizes eugenics, the practices aiming to improve the genetic quality of the human race. In what is probably Chesterton’s most prophetic book, the writer argues in a powerful style against Britain’s Mental Deficiency Act adopted in 1913, which implemented very harsh provisions about the treatment and management of people deemed to be feeble-minded or morally defective.

Chesterton’s book does far more than simply criticize a law passed by Parliament: it criticizes the establishment, human society, the government and any attempt to regulate the right of humans to procreate. The book consists of three parts: the first one explains and dismantles the philosophy behind eugenics; the second exposes the interests and the motivations that lie behind the theory, while the third offers a collection of letters and articles written by advocates of eugenics in the first decades of the 20th century.

Eugenics and Other Evils is a warning to society on what could happen if a group subscribing to such evil views took over – a warning that is just as important to listen to in our modern times as it was at the time this brilliant text was written.

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