Family & Politics

Over the past fifty years, the United States has seen a dramatic revolution in family life. Marriage rates have cratered, fertility rates have fallen to all-time lows, and the question of whether the government should take an interest in strengthening families (and if so, how) has attracted attention from both sides of the political aisle.

This course will introduce fellows to both the philosophical and the empirical aspects of policy-making on issues related to the family. Fellows will read five rival understandings of the family and its role in society—from Plato through contemporary feminism—and then apply their thinking to current family policy debates. We will examine some of the most salient topics in family policy, including childcare, the child tax credit, and pro-natal policies. At the end of the week, fellows will have learned to think more clearly about the ways in which political philosophy does, and does not, bear directly on decisions made in the world of public policy.

Image: Ralph Eleaser Whiteside Earl, Family Portrait, 1804, National Gallery of Art

Patrick Brown on pro-family economics

This course was part of our residential Political Studies Program. Fellows participate in morning seminars and meet prominent men and women in public life over afternoon and evening sessions.

Faculty

Daniel Burns

Daniel Burns is Associate Professor of Politics at the University of Dallas. His research in political philosophy focuses on the relation between religion and citizenship. He has recently served as a staffer for the U.S. Congress Joint Economic Committee and as a full-time contractor for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

Patrick T. Brown

Patrick T. Brown is a fellow at the Ethics and Public Policy Center, where his work focuses on developing a robust pro-family economic agenda and supporting families as the cornerstone of a healthy and flourishing society. Prior to joining EPPC, Patrick served as a Senior Policy Advisor to Congress’ Joint Economic Committee (JEC).

Preview the Syllabus by Week/Session

Sacred Bonds & Contractual Bonds

Readings:

Plato, Excerpts from the Laws and Menexenus
John Locke, Excerpts from the Second Treatise of Government

Discussion Questions:

Does Plato’s account of sacred familial bonds still describe how Americans experience family life today?
Does Locke’s account of the contractual basis of marriage and family life offer a more reasonable basis for family-related public policy than Plato’s account?
What are the most important areas of agreement between Plato and Locke on the family? What are their most important areas of disagreement? Would their disagreements have any bearing on questions of contemporary public policy?

Traditional Gender Roles, Pro & Con

Readings:

Discussion Questions:

Rousseau claims that traditional gender roles are not only useful to society but also beneficial for individual happiness and true gender equality. Are these believable claims?
Mill advocates only for legal equality of opportunity between the sexes, not for any legal interventions to correct past inequities or prevent future discrimination. Is this consistent on his part? Or do his arguments point toward a more active government role in advancing the social status of women?
What would contemporary American society look like if we listened more to Rousseau? Or to Mill?

Equality, the Workplace, & Childcare

Readings:

Discussion Questions:

Does the equality of the sexes require Okin’s “genderless society”? If not, then why not? Or if so, then are her policy prescriptions the best way to achieve that society?
What are the social goals that proponents seek to advance through greater funding of childcare? What are some of the objections to broader funding of childcare? Are these fundamentally irreconcilable?

Pro-Family Tax Policy

Readings:

Discussion Questions:

What are some of the tradeoffs that come with greater fiscal support to families? Are there any objections to pro-family policies not listed in the articles above?
Why is there such a heavy emphasis placed on ‘working families’ in this debate? Who might be left out in such a framing?

The Politics of Family & Pro-Natal Policy

Readings:

Discussion Questions:

What are different ways someone on the political left might conceive of the family as an institution in today’s policy debates, and how does that differ from someone on the political right? What are the major fault lines?
What are the best examples of contemporary policy debates that illustrate how the different anthropologies of the family drive different political positions and stances?
Are we entering a new era of family policy? Are the debates over the family the same as in the 1970s or have they shifted?

Alumni Spotlight

Marshall Kosloff

Marshall Kosloff is a media fellow at Hudson Institute, where he hosts the Arsenal of Democracy podcast. He also co-hosts The Realignment podcast. Previously, he was a researcher at PBS’s Firing Line with Margaret Hoover and participated in the Public Interest Fellowship.

“Political science and public policy programs at the undergraduate level, or even at the graduate level, are disengaged with what’s going on in DC. Hertog’s programs do a very good job of bringing you into the center of things, but also making you dive deeply.”

Marshall Kosloff

Current Position:

Media Fellow, Hudson Institute
Past:

PBS, National Review, The Public Interest Fellowship, American Legion Boys Nation
Education:

University of Oregon

HOW DID YOU FIRST HEAR ABOUT THE HERTOG FOUNDATION? WHY DID YOU DECIDE TO APPLY?

I first heard about Hertog when I was in DC working at AEI. I didn’t really get the opportunity to study political philosophy during college or high school, and I also have a deep interest in public policy. I really loved how we spent the first week of the course looking at foundational and philosophical topics, and over the second week, we delved into policy topics like K-12 education and economic and social mobility.

WHAT STICKS OUT IN YOUR MEMORY ABOUT YOUR EDUCATIONAL EXPERIENCE WITH HERTOG PROGRAMS?

I’ve never been in an intellectual environment where I felt the need to just sit back and listen to what everyone else had to say. Obviously, the instructors for the seminars are amazing, but I really think it’s being in a room with other concerned, engaged people that makes the entire experience worth it.

DO YOU THINK HERTOG PROGRAMS ARE BENEFICIAL FOR YOUNG PEOPLE INTERESTED IN PUBLIC POLICY?

It helps so much that Hertog programs occur in Washington, DC. A lot of political science and public policy programs at the undergraduate level, or even at the graduate level, are very disengaged with what’s going on in DC. Hertog’s programs do a very good job of bringing you into the center of things, but also making you dive very deeply.

Hertog creates an environment where you can’t just skim the text in order to get along with the bare minimum. You really have to be willing to engage. Afterwards, you have a sense of confidence and excitement that Hertog has instilled in you. I definitely wish I had gotten the Hertog experience when I was a freshman or a sophomore versus when I was a senior. A lot of trying to figure out what I wanted to do and similar college-career struggles would have been far easier if I’d had the foundational experience with Hertog earlier.

WHERE DO YOU SEE YOURSELF IN 10 YEARS?

I really love public policy, and I want to focus on taking a lot of the big ideas and finding a way to bring that to a more grassroots level. I want to find a way to make the policy work that I think a lot of great people are doing – especially those I met during my time in “American Democratic Capitalism” – more relevant and more useful to people outside of the Beltway corridor.