Why are stupid people allowed to have kids?

Question

I can't remember who it was that said "If you're an idiot and you have kids, that counts as child abuse"

This question is mostly inspired by that Dilbert strip where Dogbert makes some random couple take a test for a "Parent Licence."

I'm not suggesting that we try to reduce the population of idiots, they have the same right to live as anyone else, but should we really subject children to an inferior upbringing. If, say a couple can be shown beforehand to lack the basic intelligence to raise a well-adjusted child, should we just allow them to raise a thug or a hooligan?

I thought I made it pretty clear that I'm not trying to advocate genocide, but still Godwin's law prevails!

Answer 1

Unfortunately, human evolution has completely stopped. I say "unfortunately" because we all evolved to survive in a completely different environment than we are likely to have for the rest of our species’ existence.

Evolution has stopped because there is no natural selection any more. While I am emphatically in favor of medicine, everything has unintended consequences, and the unintended consequence of saving people through medical technology is that our undesirable genes get passed on. If everyone survives regardless of the quality of their genes, then natural selection has ceased to have any effect.

I guess this is not much of a problem with regard to physical traits, as long as we continue to be rich enough to provide special treatment for people with physical defects. And thank God that we can afford to keep Stephen Hawking, for example, alive and contributing to science forty years after he would have otherwise died.

However, if you accept that behavior traits are also selected by evolution, then we are talking about an entirely different class of problem. For example, aggressive behavior was a lot more acceptable for cave men than it is today. However, whatever portion of aggressive behavior is attributable to genetics is going to stay with us forever now, since every body's genes get passed on today.

And we have plenty of behavior traits that are poorly suited to a technological society. For example, our capability to judge risks is incapable of correctly judging the risks of far-off or abstract dangers. This leads to mal-adapted behavior like smoking, because smokers don’t correctly judge the abstract risk of cancer.

Unfortunately, as bad as the cessation of evolution is, there is no good solution. As others have pointed out, Eugenics was tried out in the middle of the 20th century, and was terribly abused. That doesn't mean that eugenics per se is wrong, it does however mean that the process is subject to severe abuse. (Look up "Association fallacy" on Wikipedia.)

The problem is well summed up in the aphorism "power tends to corrupt, and absolute power tends to corrupt absolutely". If we could ever come up with an incorruptible system (emphasis on the word "if", for all you reading-impaired conclusion-jumpers) then eugenics would be a great benefit to humanity.

Unfortunately, we have never built an incorruptible system, and aren't likely to do so in the future.

A further problem is deciding which genes are desirable. Human genetics is a tremendously complicated field, and we have many traits which may have hidden benefits. For example, the Nazis thought that the A blood type was undesirable (because it is more common amongst Jews). This was a vast oversimplification, and a somewhat exaggerated example of the types of mistakes we are prone to commit through eugenics.

In fact, many people who act stupidly don't do so because of their genes, but rather because of influences from their environment. So some people who raise thugs or hooligans may actually have good genes but raise bad children because of a problem in their environment.

If we ever were to institute some type of eugenics, it would need to overcome these two problems: human corruptibility and the difficulty of finding desirable genes.

The only way this could ever happen is if we could identify an indisputable link between a *simple* behavior trait and its gene. The behavior trait would need to be so egregious that no one would dispute the need to remove it from our gene pool.

For example, it is possible that rape is associated with a survival strategy adopted by some of our ancestors, and possibly a behavior predisposition passed-on genetically. If that could be indisputably proven, then it might be a candidate for Eugenic selection.

Answer 2

Stupid and irresponisiable are different. There are some truely stupid people with some stupid children, although they are decent and law abiding folks, they are just plain dumb. "The First President was Abraham Lincoln during the Second World War against France and China" - A truly stupid kid. Genetics in that case.

Irresponisible people that let kids roam free or even learn criminal behavior from their parents have no right to be parents.

Answer 3

The problem is that stupid people often dont know how to stop breeding, and we cant create laws in our country limiting a certain groups right to breed. If we did that, an association of stupid people would form and get legal protection as a minority and then it would become a civil rights issue. These freedoms are part of the guiding principles of this nation. I see your point about stupid people not making the best parents on the whole, but I think my moms kinda dumb and I turned out okay. I vote, got good grades in college and I have a good job. yada yada. I would like to warn you about making sweeping generalizations. Its a bad road to go down. Having real smarts means being able to get beyond that type of thinking.

Answer 4

The American society is breeding stupid people by the very way our health care system is set up. The stupid people are on welfare. They get more money to breed more stupid kids. And we pay for it all. Intelligent people realize they can't afford more kids and they take precautions to prevent pregnancy. I have a 136 IQ and would love to have a son but i don't feel i can afford it right now as my wife and i are both self employed and have no health insurance. Its not American's duty to pay for my children.

Answer 5

Because to have a child is a God given right. When our Govenment says to abort fetus'es from parents that are not intelligent, then it is no better then what Hitler tried to do. He too thought that the less intelligent, should be done away with. I have heard that some of the less intelligent couples have had children that are genious. So who knows ? Even thugs and hooligans have been bred from real rich people too. Parent hope and pray that their child will become a good person. One whom they can be so proud of. But when you have a kid, who does not listen and goes his/her own way, then thats what ya got. It would be great if all parents could do what they need to, in order to have a well raised child, but once these folks have a child, it is their duty to raise them in the way they should go. Since the beginning of time, many parents are not acceptable. But it is theirs and theirs alone to raise their child. We don't know if the child will be a thug or a hooligan. Sometimes children from homes, like you insinuate, turn out pretty darn good.

Answer 6

Hmmm... That was Hitler's rationale.

BTW, it's not genocide, but eugenics.

This isn't a good post to prove Godwin's law, as your question is directly related to Nazi practices on state controlled selection and breeding.

The fallacy with Godwin's law is that is specifically rejects the appropriateness of the argument. Had your question been along the lines of, "What color should I paint my car?" and someone made a Nazi reference then you would be on the right track. In this case, you're clearly not.

Answer 7

Many people are shocked to know that America did have a Eugenics movement back in the 30's. And the founder of Planned Parenthood was a high standing member.

I was shocked when I learned that because I had always been a suported of Planned Parenthood...But some of their early plans were to stop the poor from "outbreeding" the rich.

You like apples? How about dem apples....

Answer 8

OOO. This is deep now. Raise a thug? How in the world doyou raise a thug? Can you raise a thug in the country? I think it would be the surronding areas....ya know...the "enviroment" that leads to alot of the "stupid-ness". If someone is surrounded by people that dont care, the chances of them not caring themselves is a tad bit higher then most.

So...i think we should do the poverty thing first. Then figure out -who- would not care for their child. Then figure out who would -hurt- their own child. And then figure out who would raise a child to where...the child is...is what? Dumb? If a child is dumb, its the parents fault. So put them in jail, or cut off the love juice. Right?

Because we cant have dumb people.

The lack of something. A person is allowed to have children. Before the whole...finding out "beforehand" that a couple isnt the smartest people in the world, i think you should find out how they would treat their own child. Just because the parents arent the smartest people, that doesnt mean they want thier child to be that way.

I know alot of..slow old people AKA parents and they dont want their chld to be like them. I guess you could say...they want their child to have a better life.

Who knows...either way. I think you should focus more on the bigger problem's when it comes to the whole -who should be allowed- to have children...like child rapist and all that. I mean...really.

Answer 9

I agree why R sub-human, duff & selfish parents allowed 2 reproduce?

Guess that's what U get 4 increasing Child Benefit year on year! (They C having a baby as a money making exercise, nothing more) !
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/newspaper/0,,176-2340541,00.html
Second Paragraph, child benefit goes on Alcohol.
But what do U know?
It's against their Human Rights 2 not allow them 2 breed more thugs & broken children 4 Society 2 carry the backlash 4!

The UK has gone 2 the Pits since the Wishy-washy New Labour lot stepped in2 the Job.
:(

Answer 10

If you want to be in the theatre, follow your passion. Education in Architecture would be a good thing to fall back on in case things don't work out for you on the stage. That way you can still use those artistic skills you have in some way. I wasn't able to follow my passion for music and art... At 15, I just rebelled, and I regret it to this day. Good Luck!

Answer 11

"Stupid" is a vaugue term in this case. Are we talking about parents with low mental capacity or people that are just uneducated? I think you mean the later.

Here is the solution: The capable parents should give up their vain standard of giving birth to their own children and adopt the children of women that do not have the desire to raise them half decently.