Supportive Communities

American markets will only work well and deliver widespread prosperity if they have the support of strong community institutions. Market fundamentalism often tries to reduce the complexities of a modern market to just two individuals trading on a desert island, and to define capitalism as nothing more than “economic freedom.” But conservatives recognize that a range of institutions operating prior to the market, alongside it, and within it act to shape the market’s outcomes, and market outcomes in turn exert a powerful influence on the institutions.

At American Compass, we work to understand the role that strong institutions play in market outcomes and develop public policies that would better support those institutions experiencing significant erosion.

The first and most important of these institutions is the family, which plays the indispensable role in preparing the next generation to assume the responsibilities of citizenship. Families must form if that next generation is to exist at all, and they must provide stable, nurturing environments if children are to emerge into adulthood prepared to support themselves, make productive contributions to their communities, and form families of their own. Strong families provide the foundation for a market economy, yet the market places no value on them, and market forces tend to prove highly corrosive.

Our Home Building collection provides a comprehensive overview of issues for policymakers to consider in going beyond just talking about families to supporting them. The survey of thousands of parenting-age Americans paints a stark picture of the challenges facing families and shows how the help they need differs from the package of progressive proposals typically in focus. We have also led conservative efforts to develop a monthly per-child benefit for working families and conducted in-depth polling on the form that Americans want such a benefit to take.

Public education plays a complementary role to the family’s in equipping young people for success in life and in the market. Schools perform several functions—teaching practical skills, instilling shared values, cultivating virtuous leaders, and fueling innovation—that are vital to the market’s success. Our Failing on Purpose collection explores these functions and presents survey data on what Americans want from the education system, while our Retooling American Education collection provides a range of policy proposals for developing non-college pathways.

Other institutions are themselves participants in the market, or play a supporting role in transactions made by others. The labor union is the most prominent of these, providing workers with power in the labor market and representation in the workplace, as well as supports like training and benefits. America’s labor movement, especially in the private sector, has faded toward irrelevance and become focused primarily on political activism. But in our Seat at the Table collection we make the case that “strong worker representation can make America stronger.” Our Better Bargain collection provides a broad survey of worker attitudes toward organized labor and a series of proposals for reform.