Wednesday, April 20, 2016

Social Eugenics

by 
Slim Fairview


Social Eugenics, in its most benign form, is the attempt to study a productive group or team, analyse it, replicate it, and reproduce similar results.

This, of course, is based on a faulty premise and on a well-intentioned but ultimately evil paradigm.

"Social Eugenics is the dehumanising field of study that reduces people to a list of component traits in order to organise them into groups to achieve a desired result." ~ Slim Fairview


Also From the Quotations of Slim Fairview

1. "Leaders are defined by their followers."

2. "Look behind you. If people are following you, you're a leader. If they're not, you're not."

3. "You can't lead if you can't manage."


The entire initiative is based on reducing individuals to individual components.

Various individuals are defined by isolating social genes--or demographic DNA.  Each may be valid and defensible in its own right. But it is not the skills that are being called into question. It is the end to which they are employed.

Such may include but are not limited to

Sympathy
Empathy
Listening skills
Validation
Etc.

Others may have more objective criteria--math skills, for instance.

There are reasons why some people become accountants and other people become artists.  One and perhaps most significant reason is that "They Want To."  Similarly, some people work better in groups, others work better alone, still others in pairs.

When used, however, to create a perfect team or group, even when the goal is to organise people to work together to be successful, they have dehumanised the people and have created a contrived arrangement.

Some of the tools are

Teach Consensus Building.  Aside from my having defined consensus building as group-think built by a consultant, Consensus Building is really influencing the members of a group to embrace a shared value or a shared vision to validate a preconceived ideal.

Leadership Training.  This is a series of exercises (where there are no right or wrong answers) to teach people presumed to have management skills how to lead people in such a way that will justify blaming the employees for any failures to meet standards or to achieve goals.

There is still the observer effect.

When a man is at the checkout at the supermarket sees an attractive young cashier, he stands up straight, sucks in his gut, and smiles.  When his wife is with him, not so much.  The observer influences the behaviour of the observed.

Appearance of Science.  With the rise of Social Eugenics, people attempt to portray opinions as facts so they can challenge facts by defining them as opinions. (SF.)

Who's to Say What's Right or Wrong?

"Circumstances if not consequences will determine who's right and who's wrong--too often when it's too late to benefit from the answer."


In an article I am writing about "personal robots" I pointed out that people who are affluent enough to afford a PSR (Personal Service Robot) will become desensitised to people in the service industry.  A robot can replicate a human, but a human won't replicate a robot.

Social Eugenics is based on an analogous principle.  That people are components in a group; and by analysing those individual traits, people can organise the component people into groups or teams that will become successful at achieving the desired results.

Warmest regards,

Slim.

If you find anything here to be helpful, please don't hesitate to send me one of those really tricked out Macbooks and to tuck a few dollars into the envelope along with the thank you note.  Slim

Robert Asken
Box 33
Pen Argyl, PA 18072




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