Book by the father of mass inoculations, eugenics and disgenics. The main point of this book is that Salk makes the case that the "wisest" should hijack man's evolution, alter man's DNA, reduce the worlds population, force everyone into austerity, and create a scientific elite managerial class to oversee the world order.
From the dust jacket: The title of this book was not lightly chosen. Paraphrasing the Darwinian notion of the survival of the fittest, Jonas Salk argues that Man's ability to learn how to act wisely is critically important both for maintaining and improving the quality of human life and for survival on this planet. Using the S-shaped growth curve, and reasoning by analogy, Dr. Salk discusses the epochal change now taking place in population growth and the social and psychological realms. "This change is of such magnitude and significance that it may well be judged to be of major import in the course of human evolution. ... At this time, Man seems to be seeking tolerable levels, quantitatively, and is being called upon to develop qualitatively satisfying ways and means for living with himself and with others that fit what might be thought of as the scheme of Nature. Man's choices will be 'judged' by Nature, thus revealing the wisdom of his selections from among many alternatives."
In an extremely provocative and suggestive thesis, Dr. Salk posits that we are now in transition between two major epochs in Man's evolutionary history in which previously prevailing values are forced by natural laws to undergo radical transformation and even inversion. Salk views Man as possessing metabiological as well as biological attributes which require understanding and development if he is to "play" the game of evolution cooperatively with and not counter to the laws of Nature. "Man has come to the threshold of a state of consciousness, regarding his nature and his relationship to the Cosmos, in terms that reflect 'reality.' By using the processes of Nature as a metaphor, to describe the forces by which it operates upon and within Man, we come as close to describing 'reality' as we can within the limits of our comprehension. Men will be very uneven in their capacity for such understanding, which, naturally, differs for different ages and cultures and develops and changes in the course of time. For these reasons, it will always be necessary to use metaphor and myth to provide 'com- prehensible' guides to living. In this way, Man's imagination and intellect play vital roles in his survival and evolution."
This important and significant work is colored by a tempered optimism, a trust in Man's ability to influence the survival of his species and the quality of his life as an individual. Drawing upon newly discovered knowledge of living systems, Man can now bring to bear insights, intelligence, and wisdom to select the wisest courses of action and not just any among the possible. ". . . wisdom, understood as a new kind of strength, is a paramount necessity for Man. Now, even more than ever before, it is required as a basis for fitness to maintain life itself on the face of this planet and as an alternative to paths toward alienation or despair."
