EUGENICS 377 



that their perpetuation from generation to generation seems 

 unnecessary and undesirable. Here eugenics is attempting to 

 awaken humanity to the need for the sensible application to 

 ourselves of the principles which have been used so successfully 

 to shape the development of domestic animals and plants. 



Limitations of Eugenics. The situation encountered in this 

 attempt is unique. No other animal consciously attempts the 

 control of its own future. Man has acquired the ability to do so 

 but the same qualities that have made it possible have, para- 

 doxically, made it difficult if not impossible. Control of environ- 

 ment is responsible for all of our material acquisitions; abundant 

 and constant food supply, physical comfort in spite of natural 

 conditions, and luxuries of all kinds are due to the fact that we 

 need not take things as they come but may shape them as we 

 desire. Every step in this direction has carried us farther and 

 farther from the primitive conditions of human existence. Social 

 as well as individual efforts tend to emphasize the individual and 

 yet the subordination of the individual alone can further the best 

 interests of humanity. 



Strangely it is not the limitation of defectives that is the chief 

 source of difficulty; this is rather the most hopeful field for eugenic 

 progress in the near future. It is the preservation and improve- 

 ment of desirable classes that seems to be an insurmountable 

 difficulty because of the divine rights of the individual! De- 

 mocracy, the highest affirmation of equality of rights, puts the 

 matter squarely up to everyone. Will 7jou do the best thing for 

 humanity where you yourself are concerned? If not we can do 

 little to guarantee continued progress unless conditions change 

 enormously. 



The Differential Birth Rate. Since eugenics is concerned 

 with the quality of the heritage a knowledge of the birth rate, 

 especially of different classes, is important. Moreover it is the 

 finest possible illustration of the facts just presented. 



Decrease in Birth Rate. It is significant that the birth rate 

 of entire populations undergoes a gradual decrease with the ad- 

 vance of civilization. European countries in general show this 

 tendency, France to such a degree that her inadequate birth rate 

 is a matter of common knowledge. In the United States official 

 statistics on the birth rate are lacking but the following table is 

 indirect evidence of a similar decline. 



