Scientist Says Eugenics Trend Results From Class Struggle

The influence of wrongly interpreted genetics research on social and political attitudes may result in an eugenics movement to eliminate defective members from society, Jonathan R. Beckwith '57, professor of Microbiology and Molecular Genetics at Harvard Medical School said yesterday.

Beckwith told a crowd of about 80 in the Science Center that "the current movement toward eugenics is a struggle of a class which controls the wealth of resources of society against the class which suffers as a result of this control."

Upper Class Lays Blames

Upper class people lay the blame for social problems on people of lower class groups, especially those with a lower level of intelligence or of another race, he said.

"The works of Herrnstein, Shockley, and Jensen show clear implications that they think eugenics programs will be necessary," Beckwith said.

Recent studies of their works show that evidence does not support the conclusions drawn, Beckwith said. People who are against busing have cited these wrong conclusions to support anti-busing protests, he added.

Influence on Behavior

A similarly controversial dispute involves genetic influence on behavioral traits, Beckwith said. A recent English study found that a large number of overly-aggressive males with severe acne who became criminals had a genetic defect. From these findings, the scientists concluded criminality has a genetic basis.

"Physical characteristics in a social setting can affect the way people interact with other individuals," Beckwith said. This channels people out of normal roles into criminal behavior," he said.

Once legislators create laws based on such "poorly-conducted studies," people may make arbitrary decisions as to who is defective, allowing for political determination of the future of certain individuals and groups, Beckwith said.

Beckwith said that scientists are responsible for the social and political ramifications of their research, although they have ignored this responsibility in the past.

Beckwith said that recent advances in science and technology parallel developments prior to the eugenics movement at the turn of the century. This movement ended with Nazi extension of eugenic ideas promoted in this country.

"At present, science and technology are in a social and political context," he said. "Science is not isolated."