brave new world and brave new world revisited

Opinions are highly polarized, and different countries have adopted a bewildering range of regulations, many of which appear to be shallow political compromises rather than reflecting deep social consensus-witness for example the discrepancy in the US between the stringent regulation of government-funded research on human cloning and the near-absence of regulation in the private sector. The inadequacy of the current system is illustrated by the worldwide debate over human cloning. (Anyone who finds this scenario implausible should look to Korea and China, where the traditional preference for male children, combined with easy access to sonograms and abortions, has recently led to a dramatic shift in the birth ratio of the sexes.) It will spread, not through government policy but through the choices of individual parents, likely accelerating as the technology becomes cheaper and more efficient. Although germ-line modification does not seem imminent and may never be widespread, pre-implantation screening is already happening. Many human attributes, including cognitive abilities, clearly have a hereditary component, and identification of the genes responsible will raise the possibility of effective intervention. In Fukuyama's view, however, both arguments are collapsing. Its current low reputation rests on two criticisms: that it is scientifically unfounded, and that it is associated with a history of governmental coercion. The third and perhaps most threatening challenge is eugenics. He also notes that the pharmaceutical industry has a strong vested interest in promoting this view Novartis, for instance, is said to have made undisclosed donations of almost $900,000 to one leading ADHD advocacy group. Fukuyama does not dispute that psychiatric drugs can bring great benefits, but he is concerned over the increasing 'medicalization' of human personality. But evolution did not design boys to sit still in class, and while some may be too restless for their own good, the recognition of ADHD as a medical condition can also be regarded as social engineering-a response to the demands of busy parents and overworked teachers. Ritalin, for instance, is often prescribed for children-mainly boys-who meet the diagnostic criteria for attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder. Drugs such as Prozac and Ritalin have generated much public debate, mainly because they are widely used to treat conditions whose diagnostic boundaries are not well defined. The first, clearly foreseen by Huxley, is the increasing use of mind-altering chemicals. Fukuyama believes that neuroscience in particular presents several imminent challenges to our traditional conception of what it means to be human.

Brave new world and brave new world revisited