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Originally Posted by mikey_the_redneck
Do you ever wonder why marriage is not the institution it once was? Call me old fashioned but I still think long term 2 parent families are the best conditions for a stable society/culture.
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It is not the institution it once was because like all things in society, everything changes. The reason two parent families have historically been successful is because society has developed in such a way that promotes their health and stability. If that is in the process of changing—and I think there is good evidence to suggest that it is—then marriage will adapt and change with it. There is nothing intrinsically special about marriage, because it has developed to fulfill specific functions. As those functions change, so too will the institution of marriage to meet them.
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Originally Posted by mikey_the_redneck
I think people are having kids out of wedlock because of government meddling in family law, the welfare state and an overall breakdown in morality. I have questions about marriage myself. It seems very risky for a man these days.
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People are having children out of wedlock because it is becoming much more progressively sustainable to do so. It was once unheard of because societies were not designed to offer support for "non-traditional" families. As alternative lifestyles and family organisation continue to change, our society will change right along with them. It doesn't have anything to do with "meddling". It is all much more a matter of perspective.
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Originally Posted by mikey_the_redneck
The family institution is the most important part of modern civilization. I hope the majority of society does not come to see family as obsolete like you do.
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I seriously doubt that anyone anywhere honestly considers the family "obsolete". However, there are certainly many who would challenge what we currently consider the traditional definition of "family", but this is nothing new. In modern Western culture polygamous unions are obsolete, as are patriarchies, as are multi-generational extended family clans. I suspect that the current, monogamous, heterosexually defined parameters that have for the past several hundred years constituted a "family" will also one day be similarly obsolete. This is not a tragedy. This is cultural evolution.