I am arguing against someone who has fallen into a serious intellectual trap - believing that the practice of contraception among the highly successful in our civilization is encouraging the promotion of the genes of the less-than-successful in our civilization.
JDG Have you pointed out yet that in the United States, and, I believe, in every other society in the world, the number of children parents have who survive to reach adulthood correlates very well with income? The correlation doesn't exist _across_ societies, but it does seem to occur _within_ societies. For your purpose that should be sufficient, unless your disputant wishes to argue that there are meaningful genetic differences from society to society. I don't actually have an explanation for this that satisfies me, but there you go. I'd suggest looking at Buss's _The Evolution of Desire_ for the best single examination of the ways in which people choose their mates. It _will_ make you more cynical, but it's one of the most fascinating things I've ever read, even though it didn't entirely convince me. Gautam
