World’s ‘Smartest Man’ Supports Eugenics

This is pretty old, but Chris Langan, the ‘smartest man’ in the world, supports Eugenics, as shown by this clip:

I put scare quotes because I don’t think it’s possible to determine who the smartest person in the world is. There are probably a hundred or so people who could hold the title, of which would include various child prodigies, individuals who are in those ‘smartest people’ lists, theoretical physicists, and mathematicians who specialize in the hardest math of all, Algebraic Geometry. This is why Guinness Book of World Records no longer has an IQ category, discontinuing it due to the difficulty of assigning a single record holder.

But he is right. After a rough start, maybe it’s time to give eugenics, specifically negative eugenics, another try. The war on poverty has failed, entitlement spending shows no indication of slowing, and perhaps society would be better if we found a way to slowly phase out its most undesirable elements. Positive eugenics already occurs to some degree due to assortative mating. The idea would be first make the idea of eugenics palatable to the public through pro-eugenics education and guides, and then try to get politicians on board by showing how eugenics can reduce entitlement spending and crime. Perhaps make welfare benefits contingent upon mandatory birth control, with violators requiring sterilization. Also offer financial incentives for individuals with low-IQs or costly heredible disabilities to undergo sterilization. And pay people with favorable phenotypes for egg and sperm donation. And prenatal screening, with required abortion in the event of severe disability unless the parent demonstrates financial means to care for child without too much government assistance, with some monetary compensation for compliance. Such screening can be done within the first trimester. Unlike eugenics of the past, there would be less emphasis on compulsory sterilization and a greater emphasis on financial incentives, making eugenics a market-based solution, and I think that’s probably the best approach. No, this is not leftist planned parenthood Sangerism. Welfare liberals want nothing to do with eugenics, supporting birth control due to a lack of self-control, not to make the world a better place. The left wants an upside-down world where the least advantageous, least desirable traits are propagated (an Idiocracy), to the determinant of society and the tax payer.