Among the more privileged, then, marriage clearly functions as a wealth-producing arrangement, a source of happiness over time, and a benefit to children. Most people marry, few children (fewer than 10 percent) are born to unmarried mothers, and most children grow up through age 18 living with their two married parents. In upscale America - about one-third of the society - marriage is thriving. I admire Isabel Sawhill deeply, but I respectfully disagree with this recommendation.įirst, American marriage isn’t disappearing, it’s fracturing along class lines. The latest and possibly most prominent is my friend Isabel Sawhill, whose new book is "Generation Unbound: Drifting into Sex and Parenthood without Marriage." Her basic premise is that “marriage is disappearing in America.” Accordingly, we should replace the old ideal of “don’t have a child outside of marriage” with a new ideal of “responsible parenthood,” which means “not having a child before you and your partner really want one and have thought about how you will care for that child.” The old model of the family consisting of a breadwinning husband and a stay-at-home wife still exists, but that model is rare.Should we give up on marriage? Some very smart people have apparently reached this conclusion. Single mothers, divorced couples, two-earner families, and same-sex partnerships are all as common as dandelions in spring. The variations are endless and no longer seem particularly surprising. F amilies like these dot the contemporary landscape. These family profiles (but not the names) are real. Their two daughters are now 5 and 7 and appear to be flourishing. They live together and have carefully chosen two different egg donors and surrogate mothers in order to have c hildren. Tom and Sebastian are two gay men with successful careers.
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