Tony Blair's 21st Centuary Eugenics

I have just read through the Full text of Tony Blair's speech in Bristol yesterday. The one soundbite that jumped out and bit me was as follows:

But even in tackling the causes of crime, we come back to some unpalatable choices about liberty and security. The "hardest to reach" families are often the ones we need to reach most. People know what it's like to live on the same estate as the family from hell. Imagine what it's like to be brought up in one.

We need far earlier intervention with some of these families, who are often socially excluded and socially dysfunctional.That may mean before they offend; and certainly before they want such intervention. But in truth, we can identify such families virtually as their children are born. The power to intervene is another very tricky area; but again, on the basis of my experience, the normal processes and the programmes of help we have rightly introduced, won't do it.

So what powers to intervene does he want. In all honesty it is nothing more than a 19th Century solution to a 21st Century problem

When Francis Galton (1822 - 1911) coined the word eugenics and set out to promote the idea, he launched a movement based on an ideology. Different people at different times have been attracted by different aspects of eugenics — and have often rejected some pieces. There is no neat package, no central headquarters, no guiding Fuhrer. Rather, Eugenics is a social philosophy which advocates the improvement of human hereditary traits through various forms of intervention. The purported goals have variously been to create healthier, more intelligent people, save society's resources, and lessen human suffering.

More State, More Blair, Vote Labour.
.