Family Policy in the 21st Century: Ideological Views of Conservatives and Progressives | Exercises Public Sociology

Family Policy

for the Twenty-First Century

Ideological Perspectives

Conservatives

• Conservative ideology upholds the modern nuclear family as the standard for all families.

• Conservatives are alarmed and appalled by the “breakdown” of the traditional family.

• premarital sex, cohabitation, out-of-wedlock childbearing, divorce, fatherlessness, nonparental

child care, legitimacy of homosexuality

• Conservatives find the principal causes of family decline to be cultural and political.

• People are making selfish decisions & behaving immorally (decline of traditional family values)

• Laws regarding: no fault divorce, abortion, contraceptives & sex education, homosexuality,

welfare & welfare spending, child care, sodomy

• Political action

• Well organized coalition of groups to promote legislation & family policy: Christian Coalition,

Focus on the Family, Concerned Women of America, Eagle Forum, Family Research Council

• Extensive media network

Progressives

• View family forms as socially and historically constructed. (not limited to a single family pattern)

• The principal causes of family change are structural. (impact of social forces)

• Progressives believe that society, through government, should come to the aid of families:

promoting diversity, eliminating institutional racism, assisting single mothers, allowing a woman’s

right to choose whether to have a baby, meeting the basic needs of children, promoting universal

health insurance

• Political Action

• Much less organized than conservatives

• Minimal media network

The Government’s Limits on the Definition of Marriage

• Local, state, & federal governments determine rights, rules, & benefits for families; thus

sanctioning certain kinds of families & ignoring or actively discriminating against others.

• For conservatives, making same-sex marriages legal abandons the basic building block of the

family (and a major source of the traditional family) and legitimates homosexuality which is

considered deviant & immoral

• This view dominates politics in the U.S.

• Progressives generally support same-sex marriages or at the very least “civil unions.”

• Provides gays the dignity & privileges of marriage (basic civil equality), affirms social

acceptance in pluralistic society

• Both gays & straights gain: promotes stability, reaffirms sanctity of marriage, does not threaten

traditional marriage

• What is defined as a “normal” family is a social construction shaped by historical & current

conditions

• U.S. trails Canada, Europe, Scandinavia on gay rights

• Full marriage rights in Netherlands, Belgium, Spain, Canada, MA, CA

• Civil unions in 7 European nations, VT & CT

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Family Policy for the Twenty-First Century

Ideological Perspectives Conservatives

Conservative ideology upholds the modern nuclear family as the standard for all families.
Conservatives are alarmed and appalled by the “breakdown” of the traditional family.
- premarital sex, cohabitation, out-of-wedlock childbearing, divorce, fatherlessness, nonparental child care, legitimacy of homosexuality
Conservatives find the principal causes of family decline to be cultural and political.
- People are making selfish decisions & behaving immorally (decline of traditional family values)
- Laws regarding: no fault divorce, abortion, contraceptives & sex education, homosexuality, welfare & welfare spending, child care, sodomy
Political action
- Well organized coalition of groups to promote legislation & family policy: Christian Coalition, Focus on the Family, Concerned Women of America, Eagle Forum, Family Research Council
- Extensive media network Progressives
View family forms as socially and historically constructed. (not limited to a single family pattern)
The principal causes of family change are structural. (impact of social forces)
Progressives believe that society, through government, should come to the aid of families: promoting diversity, eliminating institutional racism, assisting single mothers, allowing a woman’s right to choose whether to have a baby, meeting the basic needs of children, promoting universal health insurance
Political Action
- Much less organized than conservatives
- Minimal media network

The Government’s Limits on the Definition of Marriage

Local, state, & federal governments determine rights, rules, & benefits for families; thus sanctioning certain kinds of families & ignoring or actively discriminating against others.
For conservatives, making same-sex marriages legal abandons the basic building block of the family (and a major source of the traditional family) and legitimates homosexuality which is considered deviant & immoral - This view dominates politics in the U.S.
Progressives generally support same-sex marriages or at the very least “civil unions.”
- Provides gays the dignity & privileges of marriage (basic civil equality), affirms social acceptance in pluralistic society
- Both gays & straights gain: promotes stability, reaffirms sanctity of marriage, does not threaten traditional marriage
- What is defined as a “normal” family is a social construction shaped by historical & current conditions
- U.S. trails Canada, Europe, Scandinavia on gay rights
  - Full marriage rights in Netherlands, Belgium, Spain, Canada, MA, CA
  - Civil unions in 7 European nations, VT & CT

The Government and Reproductive Rights Contraceptives & Sexuality Education

Relevant statistics
- In the U.S. at least 70% of women & 78% of men engage in vaginal intercourse before marriage
- U.S. has much higher rates of teen pregnancy & STDs than comparable societies
- U.S. students know less about sexuality & reproduction than those in other comparable societies
Condom distribution in schools, colleges, & clinics does not increase rates of sexual activity, but does decrease rates of pregnancy & STDs
Two approaches to sexuality education
- Provide students with comprehensive, sequential sexuality education throughout the grades
- Promote “abstinence only” (the policy of the federal government since 1996) Abortion
Legal history: common in U.S. until late 1800s, illegal for most of 20th^ century, legalized in 1973, access limited through various state & federal laws over last 35 years
1.29 million legal abortions occur per year (ending about 23% of all pregnancies); 90% are performed in the first trimester: U.S. abortion rate has been declining since 1980, but still the highest rate among developed nations
Bias against the poor
- State & federal limitations/restrictions make abortion option less feasible for those who can least afford children (4 in 10 poor teens have abortions compared to 7 in 10 higher income teens)

Welfare

In 2005, 12.6% of population (37 million people) were below poverty line
From 1935 to 1996, the U.S. had a minimal welfare program.
Changes to the welfare system in 1996 reduced the level of welfare benefits (& the number of people who are eligible), and made welfare assistance temporary.
The Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996
- States administer welfare through block grants.
- Work is required within two years.
- A welfare recipient is limited to a lifetime total of five years.
- Unmarried teen parents must live at home and go to school to receive assistance.
- Additional cuts were made to other federal programs that assist the poor.
- Many public benefits are denied to legal immigrants.
- Federal funds are now capped with no provision for inflation or population growth.

The Conservative Solution: Marriage

The July 2003 welfare reauthorization bill proposed to spend nearly two billion dollars over six years to encourage welfare recipients to marry.

The Progressive Solution: A Stronger Safety Net

Progressives argue that the welfare reform of the 1990s failed to address the structural sources of joblessness and poverty. They seek social policies to expand the safety net because the members of society have a collective obligation to help people in need.

The special case for preschool programs to enhance cognitive ability
- Head Start programs raise IQ; UNC research demonstrates that early education of poor children pays off in cognitive advancement; RWJF research on low birth weight infants found that stimulating day care environments increased IQ scores
- We know early education helps poor children prepare for school, but the majority do not have preschool programs. (Head Start is underfunded & reaches only 40% of eligible children)

Principles to Guide Family Policy

• Policies & behaviors that enhance our moral obligation to others

• Government provision of benefits to people who cannot provide for themselves

• A special commitment to all children to ensure health, safety, preparation for school, & equal

funding for schools

Family Policy in the 21st Century: Ideological Views of Conservatives and Progressives, Exercises of Public Sociology

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• Policies & behaviors that enhance our moral obligation to others

• Government provision of benefits to people who cannot provide for themselves

• A special commitment to all children to ensure health, safety, preparation for school, & equal

• A commitment to equality for women

• Addressing many problems with federal money, standards, & administration

• Recognition, acceptance, & nurturing of diverse forms of families present in contemporary society