There is some truth to what you say, but to go from the general to the specific in a prescriptive way I can't accept. A society has tools beyond the laws and policies of the federal government to declare what it thinks is important, what it will tolerate, and what it will not.
I believe there was an erroneous correlation (in a recent post) between chaos and anarchy. The simple individual's life is pretty chaotic, and the complexity grows geometrically as you add family, friends, etc. To predict the unintended consequences of regulations Is largely beyond our capability. This is not intended to promote anarchy, but caution.
The stigma of unwed motherhood is gone. Many consider this a good thing. There was a time when we were expected to control our sexual behavior, even more so as children. Because a few wouldn't is hardly a reason to forfeit the ideal, and turn unwed mothers into heroines, holding them up to their classmates as pillars of nobility to protect their self esteem.
The self esteem proponents are dealing in a counterfeit cause. Our society regularly ignores costs of giving accolades, apartments, money and other “esteem building” benefits to children having children. This seems to belie the ability or willingness of the enlightened to determine the true costs of policy from on high.
If there were any credible evidence that it would be possible, much less probable, that a faulty policy, regulation, or law would be corrected or eliminated based on negative results, then I would be less antagonistic to attempts to perfect society from the top.
Ricardo |
