Accident of birth
From The Art and Popular Culture Encyclopedia
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"The worship of the family is merely racism, like a crudely primitive first installment on the worship of the tribe. It places the accident of birth above a man's values and duty to the tribe above a man's right to his own life."--Ayn Rand |
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Accident of birth is a phrase pointing out that no one has any control of, or responsibility for, the circumstances of their birth or parentage. With a modern scientific understanding of genetics, one can reasonably call any human being's entire genome an accident of birth. The place of birth of a baby has an effect in immigration law of many nations, so that an "accidental" birth in an airport lounge may entitle a person to a passport in later life.
More broadly, gender, family circumstances, cultural background, access to education, career opportunities, inheritance rights, are all examples of accidents of birth.
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