For several months, a central theme of my columns has been a simple but historically grounded claim: the political and economic philosophies of progressive socialism and communism have never worked as promised. Time and again, totalitarian systems and command-and-control economies have enriched ruling elites while diminishing the standard of living for ordinary people. Oligarchy is the end.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
History offers sobering evidence. Millions perished in famine under Stalin and Mao. Cuba, long upheld as a socialist experiment, now stands as a contemporary example of systemic failure. Today, only a fraction of the island maintains consistent access to electricity, and more than one million Cubans have fled since 2021. Even Cuba\u2019s own government appears to recognize this failure. On June 18 of this year, its National Assembly approved 176 market-oriented reforms, expanding private property rights and allowing private enterprise\u2014an implicit admission that centralized control has failed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Yet even as such systems falter abroad, similar ideas are being advanced here at home.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In a previous column, I argued that these policies inevitably lead to the formation of political and economic oligarchies\u2014modern Russia being a clear example. But equally concerning, and perhaps more damaging in the long term, is the erosion of the most essential social institution in any civilization: the family.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
If we are honest, we must also examine our own shortcomings. As Scripture cautions, we should first consider the \u201clog in our own eye.\u201d Cultural anthropologist Margaret Mead\u2014no conservative ideologue\u2014once observed that every known human society depends upon the learned nurturing behavior of men, and that each generation must cultivate in men the desire to care for women and children. Strong families are not incidental; they are foundational.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Yet socialist thought, from Marx onward, has often treated the family as a vehicle of the oppression of women, minorities, and the marginalized, dismissing it as a structure that reinforces inequality. In its place, modern progressivism increasingly looks to government as a surrogate provider\u2014expanding programs that, intentionally or not, weaken the role of parents and family cohesion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
We would do well to listen to voices such as Thomas Sowell, Robert Woodson, and Jason Riley, who have long examined the cultural and economic consequences of these shifts\u2014particularly within Black American communities. In his Wall Street Journal review of Delano Squires\u2019 book, The Vanishing Black Family, Riley highlights a troubling reality: policies that fragment family structure often empower centralized authority while undermining community resilience.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The data are difficult to ignore. In New York City, a majority of Black pregnancies end in abortion, with lower but still troubling rates among other groups. Meanwhile, discussions of inequality frequently omit one of the most critical variables: family structure.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Across demographic groups, patterns are consistent. Communities with higher marriage rates and stronger family stability tend to achieve greater economic success. Asian Americans, for example, have both the highest median incomes and the highest rates of marriage stability. These correlations deserve serious attention, yet they are often overshadowed by narratives that focus exclusively on historical injustices such as slavery and segregation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Those injustices were real and consequential. But they do not tell the whole story.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
As Delano Squires notes, Black marriage rates were historically strong well into the twentieth century. Between 1890 and 1950, Black Americans married earlier and at higher rates than their white counterparts. In 1965\u2014one hundred years after the abolition of slavery\u2014more than 70 percent of Black children were born to married parents. Today, that number is closer to 30 percent. Squires argues that this dramatic shift reflects changes in incentives and public policy rather than lingering effects of slavery alone. It is a conclusion that challenges prevailing assumptions but is supported by historical data.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Equally troubling is the shift within faith communities. From Booker T. Washington to Martin Luther King Jr., religious institutions\u2014especially the Black Church\u2014played a central role in strengthening families and advancing civil rights. Today, many of these institutions appear increasingly aligned with political solutions that prioritize government intervention over family-centered approaches.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Even some nations that once embraced strict communism are now moving toward freer markets and private enterprise. The lesson is not new. As Friedrich Hayek warned decades ago in The Road to Serfdom, centralized economic control inevitably leads to diminished freedom\u2014economic and political alike.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The enduring lesson, both historical and moral, is clear: the family must come first. Before politics. Before economics. Before any ideological struggle.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A society that neglects the family undermines its own foundation.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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