Genetic Eugenics

The two posters that I think have an interesting relationship are Incest and Designer Babies, because, well, they both obviously deal with the idea of reproduction, but not the reproduction with which most of us are familiar; it's not just about making babies, but making "better" babies, whether it be through the alteration of genetic make-up or keeping the prized traits free from "outside" blood. These ideas are essentially the backbone of modern eugenics (and the eugenics from the early twentieth century, as well) because they're both based on the idea that we can keep people pure, or we can create them to be pure, in order to relieve the human race of dysgenic traits. As we know, though, inbreeding can create the opposite effect, causing people to be born with certain defects caused by recessive or deleterious traits.

Although, when speaking of incest, I am speaking more of civilizations where it is socially appropriate (or even necessary) to breed with close relatives, rather than the equally taboo subject of incest as a form of sexual abuse.

It's a very interesting idea to think that we have, are, and will continue to find ways to legitimize selective breeding through methods other than simply choosing the partner with the most desirable traits, because duh, you or your partner might have an undesirable trait that you wouldn't want passed along to little junior, why not find a way to change that? You see, inbreeders had the right idea: scientists and concerned citizens just had to come up with a less taboo way of making the perfect human happen. It's almost as if human genetic engineering is new kind of incest, or rather, the future of incest, a new, intellectually and socially accepted form of genetic purification. It's truly fascinating, I think, and the sky really seems like the limit when speaking of the future of genetic eugenics. The only difference that I see behind the main ideas of human genetic engineering and incest is the fact that, in HGE, the preferred trait need not come from a close relative--no, in fact it can come from someone you've never met before. I mean, who has heard those stories of babies having two mothers and one father? This may in fact be the future of the upper class, and even for the lower class as well, once the technology becomes more accessible.

Scary? Sure. Possible? Oh, yeah. Likely? Something tells me yes.