The Family Policy Symposium
What should be the role of public policy in shaping the American family?
What, precisely, is the role of public policy in shaping the American family? Is family decline best understood as an economic problem, a cultural one, or a byproduct of failed societal institutions? Further, how should success be evaluated in a domain so deeply rooted in private life, moral formation, and long-standing social custom? Across the political spectrum, there is now broad agreement that the American family is under strain. Fertility rates are falling, younger people are foregoing or delaying marriage, and the systems that once sustained family life appear weaker than they were in generations past. The question of where to go as a society, however, remains heavily contested. Some argue that these trends demand ambitious policy responses, including new incentives, programs, and national frameworks. Others contend that such approaches mistake the nature of the problem, treating cultural and moral disintegration as merely a budgetary shortfall.
The authors in this symposium — Patrick T. Brown, Catherine Ruth Pakaluk, John Shelton and Joel Griffith, and, Brad Wilcox — take up these tensions from different vantage points. Together, they invite a more careful consideration of limits, trade-offs, and first principles surrounding family dynamics, reminding us that in the family, prudence may matter more than ambition.
Politics
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Liberal Democracy Reexamined: Leo Strauss on Alexis de Tocqueville
This article explores Leo Strauss’s thoughts on Alexis de Tocqueville in his 1954 “Natural Right” course transcript.
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Long Distance Migration as a Two-Step Sorting Process: The Resettlement of Californians in Texas
Here we press the question of whether the well-documented stream of migrants relocating from California to Texas has been sufficient to alter the political complexion of the destination state.
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Who's That Knocking? A Study of the Strategic Choices Facing Large-Scale Grassroots Canvassing Efforts
Although there is a consensus that personalized forms of campaign outreach are more likely to be effective at either mobilizing or even persuading voters, there remains uncertainty about how campaigns should implement get-out-the-vote (GOTV) programs, especially at a truly expansive scale.
California job cuts will hurt Gavin Newsom’s White House run
California Governor Gavin Newsom loves to describe his state as “an economic powerhouse”. Yet he’s far more reluctant to acknowledge its dramatically worsening employment picture.
An anti-woke counter-revolution is sweeping through the media
From Hollywood to the newsroom, the hegemony of the ‘progressives’ is finally faltering.
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How States Can Help Families
When it comes to daily life, states can – and should – experiment with different approaches to centering families’ needs in public policy.
Family Policy Enthusiasts Get the Ecology Wrong
The American family is suffering from the wrong kind of help — the wolf niche is vacant, and the government is playing the role of zookeeper rather than wolf protector.
