The Unthinkable Alternative

“Last summer’s marriage wars” —as Mary Eberstadt describes them in our current issue—pose anew the question whether divorce has also evolved in ways worth debating. In the inaugural issue of National Affairs , Brad Wilcox’s “The Evolution of Divorce” suggests the answer is yes . It’s a matter of class::

If our society is genuinely interested in protecting and improving the welfare of children—especially children in our nation’s most vulnerable communities—we must strengthen marriage and reduce the incidence of divorce in America. The unthinkable alternative is a nation divided more and more by class and marital status, and children doubly disadvantaged by poverty and single parenthood. Surely no one believes that such a state of affairs is in the national interest.