> Plus, if the Darwin approach is that good, why do we not apply it to ourselves and our family?

quoted material:

Darwin was lauded as “master demonstrator of organic evolution” for his demonstration of the “close parallel between man’s actual improvement of domestic plants and animals and the possible improvement in human family-stocks” and his belief that (to a certain degree) he could “control his own future racial evolution.” 

Eugenics exhibits first appeared at early-twentieth-century expositions as part of what Robert W. Rydell has described as America’s “exhibitionary culture.” Eugenics achieved greater visibility and cultural currency through state fairs, which was fitting since the U.S. movement initially gained a foothold through the American Breeders Association.

Disillusionment with eugenics increased with social changes wrought by the Great Depression. As both the “fit” and the “unfit” fell on hard times, eugenicists’ claims that self-sufficiency, social status, and financial security were markers of genetic superiority became much less persuasive.

[By 1933] eugenics in general, was lambasted in the press as “a now discredited doctrine,” and “a disguise for race prejudice, ancestor worship and caste snobbery” lacking any firm scientific basis.

Source: Bulletin of the History of Medicine , Vol. 86, No. 2 (Summer 2012), pp. 206-236

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