Why Is the Pundit Class Suddenly So Marriage-Obsessed?

[Anonymous]

https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2024/01/06/marriage-political-expert-roundtable-00133856

Very interesting long read in Politico mag this week

[Anonymous]

Because society is struggling, children are struggling and our birth rate is falling.

That doesn't mean that their ideas will work, but I think that's why it's coming up.

Also, control of women is a priority for some pundit groups.

[Anonymous]

Writing scoldy articles about marriage makes David Brooks feel better about leaving his wife for his much younger research assistant.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Writing scoldy articles about marriage makes David Brooks feel better about leaving his wife for his much younger research assistant.

Hahaha I love this answer.

[Anonymous]

The same reasons so many white supposedly “Christian “ men are pro-abortion. It’s striking how few pro-marriage people focus on the actual quality of the marriages, or even family-friendly economic and social policies that might make marriage a better option for more people.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Writing scoldy articles about marriage makes David Brooks feel better about leaving his wife for his much younger research assistant.

Yup. David Brooks is so NOT the person to push the importance of marriage.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Because society is struggling, children are struggling and our birth rate is falling.

That doesn't mean that their ideas will work, but I think that's why it's coming up.

Also, control of women is a priority for some pundit groups.

Agreed. The research is quite clear that children raised in two parent households fair much better, even when controlling for income. It really does a disservice to children and society to ignore reality.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Because society is struggling, children are struggling and our birth rate is falling.

That doesn't mean that their ideas will work, but I think that's why it's coming up.

Also, control of women is a priority for some pundit groups.

Ding ding ding!

[Anonymous]

There's also the ridiculous pronatal movement

[Anonymous]

Thanks for linking, I haven’t read it yet but I definitely will.

I admit I was bummed about the editorial in the Washington post about it. Instead of telling men that they should stop being red-pillers, or call upon the government to make marriage and having children less of a financial burden, they basically told women that we should be okay dating and marrying people who don’t think we deserve bodily autonomy. That’s what we get from a supposedly liberal magazine?

[Anonymous]

I wonder if the rise of attaining “equity” has a part in scrutinizing marriage and two parent households on the whole, as well. Essentially, marriage is the really the domain of middle or upper oppressor class these days and so perhaps there is a view that it should be dismantled. Sort of like the emphasis is now less on grades, less ap classes and entrance exams at prestigious high schools and the focus is on a holistic admissions and accepting different needs and so forth. Essentially, marriage is declining in poor people across the board. Read the studies. It’s mainly two people with at least a college degree tying the knot, so perhaps the institution is gaining some scrutiny for its exclusivity and based on the stats of who is married or something.

[Anonymous]

Ugh, yes, so sick of Ross Douthat pushing his pro-marriage, more babies please agenda.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Writing scoldy articles about marriage makes David Brooks feel better about leaving his wife for his much younger research assistant.

Yup. David Brooks is so NOT the person to push the importance of marriage.

You never know what’s happening in someone’s marriage. Who knows if his wife was a karen or had some other mental issue

[Anonymous]

Marriage is much more a class issue than a political one. The highly educated, high resource men and women are still getting married and staying married and using the advantage of the institution to better elevate the socio economic status of their children, and the disconnect between the classes is leading to more inequality.

[Anonymous]

The key point is a good one-- conservatives simply aren't willing to implement, and pay for, any of the interventions they support. So the whole discussion is in bad faith.