Wednesday, June 3, 2009
An important question about "family policy"
At "Front Porch Republic," Lew Daly asks, in this long, but very interesting, post:
So the question I ask myself is this: is there a need and a desire for a family-centered politics that marries security-oriented economic progressivism with community-oriented cultural conservatism? This is “progressive” for focusing on economic structures and power; it is “conservative” for focusing on the problem of family cohesion as a national crisis; it is “cultural” for exposing market liberalism as a danger not only to family economic welfare but to non-market family functions like care for children and elders. Is there a viable politics in cutting across such boundaries?
If there is, in fact, a need and a desire for such a politics, we will need a substantial philosophical reconstruction to create the moral framework that sets it apart from conventional partisan debate, appealing to deeply held values in a consistent if challenging way. I have ideas about how to construct such a philosophy—from elements of Catholic social thought, comparative social law, and maternal feminism. But before turning to those ideas, in a future post, I am eager to hear what others generally think about the project I begin to outline here.
Thoughts?
https://mirrorofjustice.blogs.com/mirrorofjustice/2009/06/an-important-question-about-family-policy.html