Comments on: Tantalizing Findings

By: Ajay

Ajay — Thu, 11 Apr 2013 08:35:56 +0000

Ever heard of the mormons?

By: shrikanthk

shrikanthk — Thu, 11 Apr 2013 02:22:55 +0000

In Western societies with highly developed human capital and emancipated women, one can only see stable monogamous families strengthening in the absence of state assistance – as that’s the experience of western societies. Western civilization has always been hostile to polygamy unlike say the Islamic world.

By: shrikanthk

shrikanthk — Thu, 11 Apr 2013 02:06:02 +0000

Well then I’m glad that libertarians grudgingly agree with conservatives that the single mother phenomenon can be inimical to civilizational stability.

The conservatives and libertarians differ only in their verbiage. While libertarians argue in favour of offering rational individual women incentives to avoid single motherhood, conservatives make the same argument while couching it in the civilization vs barbarism framework.

By: Jeff

Jeff — Tue, 09 Apr 2013 20:18:38 +0000

The only flaw is eugenics actually works.

By: ThomasL

ThomasL — Tue, 09 Apr 2013 20:10:41 +0000

“I compared universal pre-school to eugenics. Both appeal to the same desire to improve the human race based on “scientific evidence” of the unfitness of some parents.”

A great line and a great insight.

By: MikeP

MikeP — Tue, 09 Apr 2013 19:51:19 +0000

Libertarian view – Single mothers “liberated”

Uh, no. The libertarian view is that single mothers are more likely to starve, and the fear of starving — or at least of being very much worse off than had they not had children or had their children’s father around — provides an individual incentive to avoid single motherhood.

They are not “liberated” except, in most cases, by others’ taxes. Not terribly libertarian.

By: Matt

Matt — Tue, 09 Apr 2013 19:49:32 +0000

This isn’t true, lots of counter examples. The culture that supports families is deeper than not having state assistance programs. Consider, maybe without state assistance we have instead of nuclear families we have large polygamous ones, victorian values aren’t the only values. State assistance is a problem, but its not the only one.

By: shrikanthk

shrikanthk — Tue, 09 Apr 2013 17:34:16 +0000

Good point.
History is replete with examples of cultural imitation.
Scots learning English, imbibing the superior Anglo saxon culture and achieving great things in the intellectual sphere in the 18th century. Similarly we have the creation of the Indian public school elite in late 19th/early 20th century – with no prior exposure to Western civilization. Am sure there are other examples.

By: N.

N. — Tue, 09 Apr 2013 17:23:06 +0000

The oppressors are those who oppose the creation of a government framework that would grant this single mother the same advantages that her married counterpart has. The nature of the oppression is that it takes a village, and some people will not allow that village to be built.

By: shrikanthk

shrikanthk — Tue, 09 Apr 2013 17:21:29 +0000

Are you Charles Murray and do you recommend promoting Victorian virtues?

I am not sure if Charles Murray or any major conservative voice recommends that.
Victorian values don’t need “promotion” but will promote themselves in a society with no govt sponsored safety nets, no affirmative action and with strong economic and social incentives for achievers and upwardly mobile people.

As the sphere of the state shrinks the sphere of the family has to expand (and not the sphere of the individual as libertarians suppose). As the sphere of the family expands it is natural for money making and morality to become fashionable.