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So this one is making the rounds...
It's not a take many people would sign on to, but it does represent the logical conclusion of a certain kind of progressive worldview.
It's not a take many people would sign on to, but it does represent the logical conclusion of a certain kind of progressive worldview.
This is the kind of progressivism that sees any kind of traditional authority or unequal power relationship as oppressive, because it limits individual autonomy and self-expression. As a result, it will always view the family with suspicion.
Needless to say, some parents do abuse their authority.
But children are not adults. The are dependent on adults to survive and thrive. So limiting the power of parents means introducing other forms of power, either in the form of the state or the market.
But children are not adults. The are dependent on adults to survive and thrive. So limiting the power of parents means introducing other forms of power, either in the form of the state or the market.
In other words, according to this way of thinking impersonal institutions and bureaucracies have to free us from the messiness and limitations of actual intimate relationships.
Then we will be "free."
Then we will be "free."
This is the mistake conventional conservatives make when they call their progressive opponents "collectivists." In fact, they are often radical individualists who want to use the state to liberate people from any form of limitations on their autonomy.
The thing is, at a deeper level many "conservatives" are not that far off from that worldview either. It's just that they substitute the market for the state and emphasize absolute autonomy when it comes to money and property rather than matters of the family or sex.
What's missing from both of them is a real vision of the common good: that is, not just the satisfaction of the desires of a bunch of isolated individuals, but the health of the relationships that make society work: families, first and foremost.
And when you put the family at the center of your politics, you will find that you don't quite fit on either the left or the right in America today.
We are pursuing a different path.
Many aspects of American life *are* unjust, and demand a collective response to build a more humane society for our families and our children.
At the same time, nothing can grow by tearing up its roots.
Many aspects of American life *are* unjust, and demand a collective response to build a more humane society for our families and our children.
At the same time, nothing can grow by tearing up its roots.
