Posted by
Andrews on Tuesday, August 04, 2009 5:35:03 PM
Writing
my last post, I realized some would make an objection. It is the same objection raised in
the WSJ opinion piece which inspired my post. That is the argument that every nation which has weakened marriage laws has seen both troubled youths and a decline in births.
However, I think this is a confusion of cause and effect. Yes, nations which have weakened marriage have had those changes, but is it not possible that it was a societal change which led to both results? After all, do you raise your children well because of marriage law or because of your commitment to your family?
Let me make an analogy. Suppose a nation has an established state church. They would likely argue that eliminating mandatory church attendance would reduce the devotion of citizens. However, as we know, people can be quite devout in a state which has total religious freedom.
And that is my point. It is not strong marriage laws which produce numerous, good children, it is strong families. And while eroding marriage laws may show a lack of commitment to strong families, there is no logical reason that changing marriage laws would in any way weaken families. The strength of families has much more to do with the beliefs of individuals than the law.
POSTSCRIPT
In some ways the argument that marriage laws make strong families is the antithesis of a conservative argument, as it ascribes omnipotence to the government. After all if people only have and rear children because of the law, then what argument is there against the liberal assumption businesses only behave because of government pressure, or that people only refrain from shooting one another because of gun control? If people are only good because of government, as this argument seems to suggest, then what argument is there for limiting the state in any way? (This is the very sort of argument I criticized in "
Smaller Government , Fair Weather Friends and Special Cases", "
Inescapable Logic", "
All Or Nothing Thinking", "
The Danger Inherent in Banning "Bad Ideas"" and "
Don't Blame the Politicians".)