Many will condemn this as a resurgence of “eugenics,” the view, especially popular in the early twentieth century, that hereditary traits should be improved through active intervention. So it is, in a way, and in the hands of authoritarian regimes, genetic selection could resemble the evils of earlier forms of eugenics, with their advocacy of odious, pseudoscientific official policies, particularly concerning “racial hygiene.”
许多人会将此斥为“优生主义”复辟——这种在20世纪初特别流行的观点认为应该通过积极的干预改善遗传特征。从某方面来看，的确是这样，而且在独裁政体的铁腕下，加上他们对伪科学的恶劣官方政策的鼓吹，特别是有关“种族卫生主义”的政策，基因选择可能与优生主义早期的邪恶派别相似。