Louise Perry made a sharp observation: many feminists tried to replace the husband with the state.
In her interview with John Anderson, she pointed out that while the state can provide money and daycare, what most women actually want is to raise their children with the support of committed adults, not institutions.
After reviewing history, she concludes that monogamous marriage, despite its imperfections, has consistently produced the best outcomes for mothers and children. Every major experiment with communal living or fully socialized families has ended with worse results.
Decades of research show children raised by married biological parents have significantly better outcomes across the board, lower rates of poverty, higher educational attainment, better mental and physical health, and lower involvement in crime.
These advantages hold even after controlling for income and education. Alternative family structures and state-heavy models have repeatedly shown higher instability and poorer long-term results for kids.
With marriage rates declining and child mental health struggling, we need to be honest about which systems actually support families best instead of clinging to nice-sounding theories that keep failing.
Do you think stable monogamous marriage is still the best system we have for raising kids, or do you see better alternatives?