SECTION: What is the FCP all about

LEVEL 2 SECTION: What family?

YOU WERE READING:

...this decline leads to the decline of society.

WHY DECLINE OF SOCIETY?

The family is a model of society and a preparation ground for the future members of society. It is also the first form of government. 

When the family prospers, society prospers. However, when the family suffers, society also suffers^1,2. 

The effects of family breakdown on domestic abuse³, youth violence⁴, youth addiction⁵, poverty^6,7,8,9 and other behavioral problems^10,11 are well documented.

"...The decline in the family leads to a decline in our democracy. Indeed, the family is where children should learn self-government, basic moral values and the beliefs that determine the future of democratic institutions. Thus, it stands to reason that without stable families, we can have no hope of producing self-reliant, responsible citizens.

...The increasing loss of the family structure leads to destabilization in society of "mediating structures" - neighborhoods, families, churches, schools and voluntary associations. When they function as they should, mediating structures limit the growth of the government. But when these structures break down, society - that is, people - look to mega-structures, such as the state, as a source of values. In America, the state-financed public schools and day care centers have increasingly assumed the role of providing "values" for children. As history teaches, the authoritarian state gladly and aggressively assumes this role and becomes a substitute family."¹²

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REFERENCES:

[1] "No Family, No Stability, No Community, No Nation", by Martin Wickens, Thursday, 12 April 2007.

[2] "The £20 billion annual cost of family breakdown", by Steve Doughty, Daily Mail (UK), December 8th 2006.

[3] "Family Violence in America", Report by Stephen Baskerville, PhD, May 2006 

[4] "Family Change Induces Kids' Violence",  Fred C. Pampei and John B. Williamson, University of Colorado and Boston College.

[5] "Broken homes found to break children", Globe & Mail, Jan. 24, 2003.

[6] "Breakdown of family blamed for child poverty", By William Walker, Toronto Star Ottawa Bureau Chief.

[7] "Let Them Eat Their Words … Marriage Reduces Poverty", by Jennifer Garrett, March 22, 2002.

[8] "Families in Poverty in the 1990s: Trends, Causes, Consequences, and Lessons Learned", Karen Seccombe, Journal of Marriage and the Family 62[2000].

[9] "Are the poor getting poorer?", by Walter Williams, October 2007.

[10] Statistics Canada, January 2001.

[11] In their 1995 book, "Growing Up With a Single Parent", Sarah McLanahan and Gary Sandefur point out that children raised by a single parent are two to three times as likely to get into trouble with the law, struggle at school, get involved with drugs and alcohol or get pregnant out of wedlock.

[12]  "Without the Family, There Is No Freedom", By John W. Whitehead, The Rutherford Institute, December 28, 2006.