Geopolitics & Empire Mark Sutherland: Eugenics & Population Control in 1920s Britain & Today
May 30, 2025
Mark Sutherland, an executive coach and author of "Exterminating Poverty," dives into the controversial roots of eugenics and population control, spotlighting his grandfather's opposition to Marie Stopes. He scrutinizes how eugenics was rebranded, tracing its troubling influence from the 1920s to today. The discussion unpacks chilling parallels between historical atrocities and current genetic practices, and emphasizes the need for awareness around reproductive rights and the socio-economic implications of these ideologies. Sutherland's insights urge listeners to reflect critically on moral dilemmas in modern society.
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Mark's Family History Revelation
- Mark Sutherland discovered that his grandfather's opposition to Marie Stopes was not due to Catholicism but due to her eugenics and neo-Malthusianism stance.
- He tried to correct the historical record, which was often ignored by biographers perpetuating a triumphalist story.
Debunking TB Eugenics Myth
- Eugenicists claimed tuberculosis was hereditary to justify their ideology, but Dr. Sutherland showed it was primarily infectious.
- This undermined eugenics by revealing their misuse of faulty statistics to support racist and classist policies.
Neo-Malthusianism's Dark Impact
- Neo-Malthusianism blamed the poor for poverty and pushed population control through contraceptives.
- Eugenicists feared the 'differential birth rate' would lead to race suicide by reducing births among the middle and upper classes.
