[Paleopsych] Amazon.com: Books: Imperfect Conceptions
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Imperfect Conceptions
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0231113706/qid=1109119275/sr=1-1/ref=sr_1_1/103-0151741-8716631?v=glance&s=books
Imperfect Conceptions
by [37]Frank Dikotter "The People's Republic of China passed a law in
1995 aimed at restricting births deemed to be imperfect..."
List Price: $35.50
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Editorial Reviews
From Book News, Inc.
In 1995, the People's Republic of China passed a controversial
Eugenics Law, stressing prevention of "inferior births." Using this
statute as a springboard, the author explores the contexts and history
of eugenics in Communist and Republican China. He shows how Western
eugenics was imported and combined with existing fears of cultural and
biological degeneration in Chinese society, and demonstrates how
Chinese assumptions about the relationship of the individual to
society form the core of their attitudes to procreation.
Product Description:
In 1995 the People´s Republic of China passed a controversial Eugenics
Law, which, after a torrent of international criticism, was
euphemistically renamed the Maternal and Infant Health Law. Aimed at
"the implementation of premarital medical checkups" to ensure that
neither partner has any hereditary, venereal, reproductive, or mental
disorders, the ordinance implies that those deemed "unsuitable for
reproduction" should undergo sterilization or abortion or remain
celibate in order to prevent "inferior births." Using this recent
statute as a springboard, Frank Dikötter explores the contexts and
history of eugenics in both Communist China and Taiwan. Dikötter shows
how beginning in Late Imperial China, Western eugenics was imported
and combined with existing fears of cultural, racial, or biological
degeneration in Chinese society, leading to government regulation of
sexual reproduction. is a revealing look at the cultural history of
medical explanations of birth defects that demonstrates how Chinese
assumptions about the relationship of the individual to society form
the very core of their attitudes toward procreation. Dikötter explains
the patrilineal model of descent, where a person is viewed as the
culmination of his or her ancestors and is held responsible for the
health of all future generations. By this logic, a pregnant woman´s
behavior and attitude directly influence the well-being of her baby,
and a deformed or retarded child reflects a moral failing on the part
of the parents. Dikötter also shows how the holistic medicine
practiced in China blurs any distinction between individual and
environment so that people are held responsible for illness. Drawing
on cultural, social, economic, and political approaches, Dikötter goes
beyond a simple authoritarian model to provide a more complex view of
eugenic policy, showing how a variety of voices including those of
popular journalists, social reformers, medical writers, sex educators,
university professors, and politicians all disseminate information
that supports rather than questions the state´s program. reveals how
Chinese cultural currents -fear and fascination with the deviant and
the urge to draw clear boundaries between the normal and the abnormal
-have combined with medical discourse to form a program of eugenics
that is viewed with alarm by the rest of the world.
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Product Details
* Hardcover: 226 pages
* Publisher: Columbia University Press (November 15, 1998)
* ISBN: 0231113706
* Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 5.7 x 0.7 inches
* Shipping Weight: 12.8 ounces.
* Average Customer Review: based on 1 review.
* Amazon.com Sales Rank in Books: #1,047,094
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Citations
This book cites 1 book:
* [66]The Cambridge History of China: Volume 14, The People's
Republic, Part 1, The Emergence of Revolutionary China, 1949-1965
(The Cambridge History of China) by Roderick MacFarquhar on
[67]page 121
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Customer Reviews
6 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
[stars-4-0.gif] A look at China's eugenics., January 19, 2001
Reviewer: [69]Matt Nuenke http://eugenics.home.att.net (Chicago,
Illinois United States) - [70]See all my reviews
This short but fascinating book looks at eugenic programs in China,
both past and present. China, with its one-child policy is in the
perfect position to start a genetic war with other nations to breed a
superior race. That is, the state has already taken control of all
reproductive rights, and with the recent eugenics laws past in 1995
for the collective improvement of the quality of the 'yellow race',
they could be destined to surpass other nations in the quality of
their people --- that is the average intelligence in China will
surpass all other races except the Jewish race (with and average IQ of
117 due to their own form of eugenics practiced over the last 2000
years as part of the Jewish religion).
Few voices in the Peoples Republic of China (PRC) question eugenic
practices. Historically they have always understood the need for
racial hygiene, and more so than in the West they shun deformations or
inferior offspring. And with a centralized government, with its
support of its eugenic programs, the few voices who believe in the
sanctity of life over the betterment of the race can be suppressed,
not unlike the reverse in the United States where concerns for
dysgenic trends by the underclass are ignored or suppressed. In the
United States, we propagandize and redistribute wealth to the
underclass under the pseudoscientific claims of radical
environmentalism as promoted by Gould et al. and now proclaimed by
President Clinton. "Anyone can rise to be anything they want to be
with enough will and determination!" Bunk! Nations rise and fall on
their genetic quality, typically their average intelligence.
The Chinese firmly believe that there will be biological competition
between the 'white race' and the 'yellow race' and they are moving
forward to win. They want to develop the 'model race' and in fact are
in a unique position to win. They already control reproduction; all
they have to do is continue to suppress the births of low
intelligent/genetically defective couples while encouraging multiple
births by 'gifted couples.' They can discourage some marriages, use
forced sterilizations, while providing incentives to others. They have
complete freedom to promote and national eugenics program without
criticism from the press or independent voices if they so choose.
Even minor defects like harelip are aborted. In a country with poor
medical care, the costs to correct the condition are greater than the
worth of the child. It is more cost effective to just have another
child. Euthanasia and infanticide are openly discussed condoned from
strong voices in the government for the benefit of the nation. The
health of the race supercedes any moral questions with regards to
'zero worth' individuals.
This book goes a long way in showing that eugenics as viewed in the
West is radically different than in Asia. With a more collectivist
perspective, individuals are willing to make sacrifices now for the
benefit of the nation later -- that is an investment in the genetic
capital of the people. We are getting a peak at the future eugenic
wars that will be an integral part of competition between nations in
the decades to come. Will the West join third world status as Asian
nations actively embrace eugenic programs?
References
37. http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/search-handle-url/index=books&field-author=Frank%20Dikotter/103-0151741-8716631
66. http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/052124336X/ref=sid_dp_dp/103-0151741-8716631?%5Fencoding=UTF8&v=glance
67. http://www.amazon.com/gp/reader/0231113706/ref=sib_ab_dp_pg/103-0151741-8716631?%5Fencoding=UTF8&p=S03R&checkSum=673buSbxE9CkqMkRT9B3%2FqGAWvwECxwfOgbgl2s9588%3D
70. http://www.amazon.com/gp/cdp/member-reviews/A3VW11SKSST2A7/ref=cm_cr_auth/103-0151741-8716631?%5Fencoding=UTF8
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