printLeft-liberalism is illiberal. It doesn’t respect individual liberties, preferring that a custodial managerial class get to delimit and limit individual rights in the interests of the so-called greater good. Much like fascism, the essence of democracy is Jean-Jacques Rousseau’s “general will,” a “national purpose” that ought to be implemented by an all-powerful state. (Voltaire, a rather cleverer Frenchman, said that Rousseau is to the philosopher as the ape is to man.)
It thus comes as no surprise to discover that California ran so robust a program of forced sterilization in the 1930s and beyond—that the Nazi Party reached out for the state’s advice (and literature, in particular a book titled, “Sterilization and Human Betterment”). Both California’s Courts and the president of Stanford University supported the practice.
Also telling is the fact that, as CNN’s Elizabeth Cohen documents below,, California has yet to make restitution to the victims. On the other hand, a historically red state like North Carolina has compensated its far fewer victims.
Well, of course, it wasn’t only California that was big on involuntary sterilizing. Western Canada, at much the same time, was pretty keen on it, though not, it would appear as keen as Sweden, which kept up its own program of socialistic-eugenic snip-snip from the 1930s until Olof Palme lost office in 1976. As far as I know Palme never dared revive the scheme once back in power six years later. And in 1986 Palme was murdered, of course, so that was the end of that.
What I can’t understand is why Australian governments, so dictatorial in most other ways, never adopted such a program. Goodness knows there were plenty of “racial hygiene” doctors in Australia – no less than elsewhere – who would’ve jumped at the chance of sterilizing Jews, Catholics, Aborigines, those with limited IQs, or non-WASPS in general. And I mean doctors in the medical and political mainstream, not isolated Protocols-worshiping cranks stuck in far-north Queensland circa 1931.
I wonder if they will blame it on republicans. It appears CA had a long line of republican governors in the 1920s, 30s and 40s.
But I would expect present day CA liberals who run the state to compensate the survivors. Of course with that many victims, they probably don’t have enough money to do so.
As i was reading this article a book i read last year came to mind, it is called “Eternal Treblinka” by Charles Patterson. You will probably find it interesting.
Is it true that the biggest single membership subdivision of the German Nazi Party (as opposed to pro-Nazi movements outside Germany itself during the war) consisted of doctors? I have seen this statistical allegation made in print, but I can’t remember where I saw it, nor do I have the expertise to know if the statement is justified.
Speaking of Nazis I’m currently reading “The Third Reich In The Ivory Tower” by Stephen Norwood. I don’t know if you have heard of it. But let me tell you,(although I shouldn’t be surprised), the way in which all of the Ivy League universities cultivated intimate relationships with the Nazis regime, it’s sickening. From student exchange programs, to inviting Nazis officials to visit, they were eager to show their support.
Hitler’s right hand man, Ersnt Hanfstaengl, a 1900 graduate of Harvard was a regular speaker at the university at the height of book burnings and their persecution of jews. This was common knowledge in the media and from German refugees. There were no secrets about the intentions of Nazis Germany.
The only good thing out of reading this book is that the students actively opposed their university administrators immoral support of the Nazis regime.
With the women’s colleges their administrators willingly and happily sent their students to a nation whose policies were to effectively turn women into breeding cows for the “Ayran” nation. Hitler had all women removed from the universities and the professions.
No one should be shocked by the willingness of the state to sterilize anyone they saw as “unfit”. Collectivism rears its ugly head.
Good or Bad the world revolves around Kaly !
Scerie’s comment made me remember that I read that the 1929 Democratic Convention had as ‘Guest of honor’ or ‘Head Speaker’ the president of the American KKK. I have looked for that reference numerous times since then and have not found it. But your article and the comments are no surprise to me.