Our Politics Needs a Pro-Family Policy Agenda

Strong families are the foundation of a healthy society. Especially at a time when cultural, political, and economic trends have pushed marriage and fertility rates to record lows, it is crucial for policy-makers to have a clear vision of how public policy might better support family life. One of the primary aims of our politics should be empowering mothers and fathers to better live out their obligations to each other, to their children, and to their communities.

In its ideal form, the family is the social institution by which children are brought into existence, raised, and prepared to take on responsibilities as they grow into maturity. Though no family is perfect, families are small, cohesive communities that should be respected as having both a social and economic role and function. Parents bear the primary and ultimate responsibility to nurture, shape, and educate their children. As such, they should be afforded space, shielded from inappropriate state intrusion or undue market pressures, to fulfill their responsibilities and live out their irreplaceable function.