And, I would add, property & family connection. For marriage is not just something which concerns the couple who marry
It is not only tax laws in support of marriage which have been dismantled. Partly because of the greater emphasis on individual rights (even for children) laws which used to give responsibilities - & rights - to husbands & fathers have been dismantled, partly in the name of womens liberation. We frown on the use of family connection to give children a start in life – certainly in education & even in working class jobs where these still exist
I remember a tv investigation back in the 1980s, during the depths of the Thatcher industrial shakeout. Soon there began to be a fuss about single mothers on council estates. One woman interviewed – not a youngster, seemingly confident & capable – had 3 sons by at least 2 different fathers. The reporter asked, essentially, if she thought she was behaving in a sensible, moral way, should she not have got established with a husband before having children? Her reply was that she wanted to be a mother, she thought she was good at it, but since there were no jobs in the area a husband would be on benefit too & it would be like having just another child in the house
If the reporter pressed on what were her plans or hopes for turning her sons into good husband material, that part was not broadcast
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