“ Being cowards, we defeat natural selection under cover of philanthropy ”
George Bernard Shaw, Man and Superman (1903). copy citation
| Author | George Bernard Shaw |
|---|---|
| Source | Man and Superman |
| Topic | selection philanthropy |
| Date | 1903 |
| Language | English |
| Reference | |
| Note | |
| Weblink | http://www.gutenberg.org/files/3328/3328-h/3328-h.htm |
Context
“Promiscuous breeding has produced a weakness of character that is too timid to face the full stringency of a thoroughly competitive struggle for existence and too lazy and petty to organize the commonwealth co-operatively. Being cowards, we defeat natural selection under cover of philanthropy: being sluggards, we neglect artificial selection under cover of delicacy and morality.
Yet we must get an electorate of capable critics or collapse as Rome and Egypt collapsed. At this moment the Roman decadent phase of panem et circenses is being inaugurated under our eyes.”
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