Eugenics and the Welfare State: Sterilization Policy in Denmark, Sweden, Norway, and Finland [Hardcover]

Gunnar Broberg (Editor), Nils Roll-Hansen (Editor)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 22, 2004

Eugenics and the Welfare State is a remarkable set of case studies of what happened when Denmark, Finland, Norway, and Sweden set in place sterilization and eugenics programs as part of large-scale, social welfare experiments based on assumptions that they would contribute to economic prosperity and social progress. In addition, the gradual accumulation of knowledge about human genetics after 1900 also was essential in setting parameters for these dramatic "biological engineering" programs. The essays in the Broberg/ Roll-Hansen volume demonstrate that, even after World War II, politicians and government planners pressed forward with their schemes, laboring under assumptions that science and scientifically based economic planning were the engines that could drive social progress. In hindsight, it is easy to demonstrate the false logic of this naive worldview. But, Nonetheless, the same kind of logic is readily found in present-day discussions. As a result, the findings of these timely essays are significant; they demonstrate clearly that, notwithstanding its many positive contributions, "science" was an intricate part of the ascendency and subsequent catastrophic decline of eugenics policies that were integral parts of important state welfare systems.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 308 pages
• Publisher: Michigan State University Press (January 22, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0870134132
• ISBN-13: 978-0870134135
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.4 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.3 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #4,981,422 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars 3 stars = Good - solid history, but boring, January 31, 2005

By 

Kurt A. Johnson (North-Central Illinois, USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Eugenics and the Welfare State: Sterilization Policy in Denmark, Sweden, Norway, and Finland (Hardcover)

In the twentieth century, both in the United States and in Europe, the idea gained ground that society was in danger from "superior" people having few children and "inferior" people having many children - or in the case of mentally retarded people, their having any children at all. Several countries passed laws to allow the sterilization of people, against their wills, for the "betterment" of society. In this book, authors Gunnar Broberg, a professor in the Department of History of Science and Ideas at the University of Lund, Sweden, and Nils Roll-Hansen, a professor at the Institute for Studies in Research and Higher Education in Oslo, Norway, record the history of Scandinavia's embracing of eugenics, and the results that this produced.

Now, where do I start with this book? I give this book 3 stars for "Good." The book is a solid history of what happened in Scandinavia, including Finland, going into excellent depth on the subject. On the downside, the book is written in a very boring and academic manner. Indeed, the authors took what should have been a fascinating topic, and produced a dull and pedestrian book.

So, if you want to an in-depth and non-sensationalistic book about how eugenics gained such a firm footing in Scandinavia, then this book is for you. But, if you want a book on this subject that will keep you fascinated and glued to your chair, then you had better look elsewhere. Overall, I give this book a rather guarded recommendation.