the idea of eugenics was rather different. two things had been noticed as far back as the 18th century. one was the great success of farmers in breeding cattle and crop plants. they did this by selecting which animals or plants would produce the next generation (artificial selection). the other observation was that lower class people had more children than upper-class people. if (and it's a big if) the higher classes were there on "merit", then their lack of children was the exact reverse of what should be happening. faster breeding in the lower classes would lead to the society getting worse.