Thread: Human genetic engineering and classes

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  1. #1
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    Default Human genetic engineering and classes

    i found this on wikipedia i was wondoring your thoughts
    Molecular Biologist Lee M. Silver believes that unlike Aldous Huxley’s Brave New World, where a totalitarian government controls all of the genetic enhancements ( they actually use eugenics and not genetics) in society, the use of gene therapy to design children will be spread through what he calls “free market eugenics” . Wealthy families will opt to design their child with genetic advantages because other families are doing so, and everybody wants to provide their newborn child with the best opportunities in life, with a leg up on the competition. The greatest fear for Silver is that we will design so many children with germline gene therapy, that the families wealthy enough to design their children, will pass down these enhanced traits to future generations. This gene therapy will obviously cost money, and the less wealthy families will be left to procreate naturally, and introduce their children into the world disadvantaged from their first breath.
    The impact on society will be a new alignment of classes, no longer will we separate people by their ethnic differences, the new division will be between what Silver calls ‘the naturals’ and ‘the GenRich’, or genetically enhanced. The major worry here is that the ‘genetic gulf’ between these two classes will become so wide that humans will become separate species
  2. #2
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    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gattaca

    This movie (and the article which you cited) is, IMO, an example of what genetic engineering would be like under capitalism.

    I think that in a socialist society, genetic enhancements should be widely available. People should be able to choose whether or not they would like to be genetically enhanced, and the services would be readily available. I don't think this would necessarily create a new class divide however, because I don't think our genetic advances would be so advanced that we'd have some people being able to leap over buildings while the others can't.
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    This movie (and the article which you cited) is, IMO, an example of what genetic engineering would be like under capitalism.
    Not really, a far better example is the world as it is, albeit perhaps with a few more blond capitalists.
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    Not really, a far better example is the world as it is, albeit perhaps with a few more blond capitalists.

    Well AFAIK, there isn't a predominant push for genetic enhancement as of yet.
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