[D-fendr]

I think the modern Eugenics was heavily influence by Darwin, however wrongly. It's founder was Francis Galton, (incidently Darwin's cousin):

An event that changed his [Galton] life was the publication by his cousin Charles Darwin of The Origin of Species in 1859. Galton was that came togripped by the work, especially the first chapter on "Variation under Domestication" concerning the breeding of domestic animals. He devoted much of the rest of his life to exploring its implications for human populations, which Darwin had only hinted at.
Source

Eugenics can be seen as applying Darwin to humans - again however wrongly.

Thanks for your reply.

[allmendream]

Eugenics is applying Selective breeding to humans, sort of an un-Natural Selection. No doubt it would work, but what traits would we select for and at what price? Before we breed humans to be “race horses” maybe we should talk to a race horse breeder about all the sacrifices made in a single minded pursuit of speed. Race horses are fast, no doubt about that, but to be fast they have thin legs prone to breaking, and thin skin prone to cracking.

Also what traits would humans be selected for? No doubt the powers that be would like a more docile and obedient populace. Add to this the fact that most Eugenicists were also Socialists and the notion that they wanted to expand State power over reproduction is completely in line with their philosophy.