People think calling Idiocracy a documentary marks them as One of the Smart (i.e. Good) Ones, but tbh it comes off as exactly the opposite. It marks them as
a) lacking all historical context. Do you think every single generation hasn’t complained that the subsequent one isn’t up to snuff? Because if so, I’ve got news for you about, uh, everyone on the planet. If you think that people of Yore sat around reading philosophy instead of literally just making fart jokes constantly, then you should check out this sweet bridge.
b) unwilling to understand that those you call Other have inner lives exactly as complex as yours. Look, Idiocracy is funny - as an explicitly over-the-top comedy. I’m fine watching it in the presence of people who recognize the exaggeration. Calling it a documentary implies that that’s actually what you think of poor people. Laughing at a stereotype that you understand to be a stereotype is one thing. Laughing at it with an undertone of but actually is scary.
a. But the introduction of birth control changed the whole ballgame, no? It exerts heavy selection pressure in favor of those who cannot use it correctly, and in favor of those who can’t earn enough money to acquire it. That seems… really bad.
Seriously, having our most overall capable people posting a birthrate well below replacement strikes me as the biggest long-term disaster we face.
We’re not bleeding off that much IQ per decade. It’s only really a problem if technological progress gets derailed and we can’t genetically modify/select babies by the mid to late century.
