Technology for the American Family
January 1, 2025
At the heart of the turn toward family policy in the developed world lies the breakdown of the family as a social institution. Policymakers across the globe are belatedly recognizing what social conservatives have been insisting for decades: that the family plays an indispensable role in bringing children into the world, forming their character, and knitting them into a broader communal and civic fabric. Without stable, functioning families, everything from crime rates to welfare spending will rise, and Americans' quality of life will deteriorate.
When asked to identify the forces undermining the family, many social conservatives reflexively turn to the culture and the economy. The culture, they argue, valorizes career success, independence, and exotic experiences, and presents marrying and raising children as just one among many equally valid lifestyles. At the same time, spiraling costs for housing, health care, and education; the two-income trap, which punishes single-breadwinner households; marriage penalties; and more are eroding the family's economic foundation.
