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Where Eugenics Goes Wrong: The Implications of Comparative Advantage, by Bryan Caplan: "Almost no one wants to be called a 'eugenicist.' It's a term of abuse. But if you go back to the origin of the term, it basically amounts to the following two claims: Claim #1: One of the main causes - if not the main cause - of economic, cultural, and other forms of success is genetic. Claim #2: Policy-makers can make their societies more successful by improving the quality of their societies' genes. For instance, the famous eugenicist Karl Pearson maintained that Britain should only admit immigrants who 'raised the average': What is definitely clear, however, is that our own Jewish boys do not form from the standpoint of intelligence a group markedly superior to our natives. But that is the sole condition under which we are prepared to admit that immigration should be allowed. These days, there is massive empirical support for Claim #1. For primers, see here and here. The result is that people who fear Pearson-like policies engage in a lot of silly ad hominem attacks on defenders of Claim #1. And on the other hand, some defenders of Claim #1 are happy to follow in Pearson's footsteps by advocating policies inspired by Claim #2. The problem, however, is that Claim #2 simply does not follow from Claim #1. Even if genetics explained ALL differences i"