this post was submitted on 09 Jan 2026
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I want to enjoy Idiocracy, but there's this undercurrent of eugenics in there that I'm not ever so fond of...
It's the comedic premise of the movie, it's not like it perpetuates the racist notions that were the real problem with pseudoscience like eugenics.
Even without the racial elements, eugenics is still an abhorrent ideology.
So what you're saying is indiscriminate killing is the only fair way? 🧌
How about no killing? That is a way more fair option.
A little killing? Like the billionaires as a treat?
The whole movie relies exclusively on the idea that eugenics is real, even though they're not focused on a racist subset of it.
It does though
It would've been a lot better if it just left the eugenics part out. They could've just had the main character wake up in the future instead of having the long narrative.
It's a completely absurdist theme. The people insisting it reflects reality in any way are the ones that bother me.
Still, it's a simple movie with simple jokes. The kind of thing maybe worth watching once, and not worth thinking about.
It only bothers me when people are hung up on the genetics aspect.
People (broadly statistically) tend to grow up to be similar to thier parents in terms of values. Not so much because of DNA, but because of how they were raised.
The premise holds even if you toss away anything to do with biology. (Which you should)
Idiots tend to have idiot kids because they raised them in idiot households, and idiots tend to have more kids.
Random people are usually way smarter than people give them credit. Idiots are an exception, though I have no idea how hey are distributed.
That's completely unfundamented idea that was created to support some racist movements. One would think that movie made a clear enough point to convince anybody this is bullshit...
I'm maybe being unfair to say idiots are having more kids.
It is a growing case where people who score relatively higher in awareness of world events to choose not to have kids at all. Between the environment and, well, gestures broadly that group of people is choosing to not have kids.
Calling people idiots or not, that's overly broad. I understand that. There are material negative pressures felt by people who value understanding the state of the world, that are not felt by those who don't.
Yes, we have an anti-birth set of memes going around.
But people sharing your memes doesn't mean they are smarter.
I don't subscribe to the doomerism mentality and I think it's counter productive precisely because of the argument laid out in Idiocracy
I went to great lengths in my previous point to say exactly that. Was that still unclear?
Higher awareness of world events is not a genetic trait
That's where eugenics falls apart. It oversimplifies genetics and people and leads to genocide.
This is exactly why I explicitly said you should reject the explanation of genetics, even if learned behaviors have a tendency to be passed from primary caregivers to children.
Overall people are getting smarter
"Idiots" tend to have smart kids
If you toss the eugenics, all thats left is an obvious spite against poor people. Because the "idiots" in the movie are just common caricatures of poor people
That's an interesting perspective.
In the "nature vs nurture" debate, I don't think I've heard anyone so emphatically proclaim: "Niether!"
Where do you see nature vs nurture in my comment?
The very first line. You are asserting that if you throw away a genetic argument (which in every single post I've made, you'll see that I am encouraging everyone to do) that "all that is left" is hating poor people. This dichotomy that you introduced leaves no third option of behaviors being transferred via concious or unconscious emulation of parental figures.
Why are you against prenatal screening (eugenics)