Chapteb VI 

 The Men we Want 



IF our object is to try to improve the breed of man, 

 should we not first of all decide on the kind of man 

 most to be desired ? To fix on all the qualities of the ideal 

 man would probably do more harm than good, because to 

 do so would be more likely to discourage than to encourage 

 us in our efforts. Something must, however, be said on 

 this subject. 



We can at all events assert that there are many kinds of 

 men that we do not want. These include the criminal, the 

 insane, the imbecile, the feeble in mind, the diseased at 

 birth, the deformed, the deaf, the blind, etc., etc. How to 

 lessen their numbers will be considered in later chapters. 



It has been suggested that, whilst getting rid of these 

 extremely undesirable types, we should endeavour to 

 create a group of supermen at the other end of the scale. 

 If a few perfect individuals were to appear on earth, and 

 if their perfection were to be acknowledged by all, this 

 would be very good. These supermen would rule over us 

 to our great contentment. This idea is, however, utterly 

 unpractical. The desire to dominate or lead other men is 

 a very deeply- seated quality. It would be very dijBficult, 

 and not altogether beneficial, to get rid of it. This being 

 the case, any group of supermen appearing in our midst 

 would probably buUy or harass their fellow citizens, until 

 the mob rose up and drove them from power or exterminated 

 them. The creation of supermen is to be condemned 

 because it would lead to either tyranny or rebellion. 



Neither should our aim be to create various inferior castes 

 of human beings, such as would be especially adapted to do 

 the dirty work of the world without complaint. No doubt 

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