The Reactionary Mind: Why Conservative Isn't Enough by Michael Warren Davis

Author:Michael Warren Davis [Davis, Michael Warren]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: political science, Political Ideologies, Conservatism & Liberalism, philosophy, Political, History & Surveys, Modern
ISBN: 9781684511464
Google: 8oEzEAAAQBAJ
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
Published: 2021-10-26T23:34:14.999928+00:00

I’m not the least bit concerned with yanking all women out of the office and chaining them to the dishwasher. My concern is only for the 50 percent of women with young children who want to spend more time with their kids. I suspect that number would increase propitiously if it were considered a realistic option. In many neighborhoods populated by single mothers or “empowered” working women, it’s probably considered the unlikeliest alternative lifestyle of all.

In May 2020—just two months into COVIDtide, when schools began closing en masse—40 percent of parents said they were more likely to homeschool their kids once the pandemic was over. Apparently, 40 percent of parents discovered that they actually enjoyed having their kids around and thought they could teach them better than public school teachers. (I bet a lot of kids secretly enjoyed being able to spend more time with their families, too. Families enjoy being together. What a concept.) More recent studies show that African American families are especially interested in homeschooling. Likewise, I expect that number would be higher if moms weren’t both working full-time from home and teaching their kids.

Capitalists and socialists both promise ever-greater economic freedom. But let me ask you this: How are they going to free up those young mothers so they can stay home with the tykes? If they can’t answer that question, any talk of “reform” is just wind. If we can’t restore financial self-determination to American families, we can’t hope to build a republic of charity.

As before, the problem is with the nature of our work.

Democrats are forever trying to raise the minimum wage, while Republicans are forever complaining that doing so would put low-skill workers out of a job. But again, Democrats and Republicans are united in focusing on the wrong thing. What we should support is a family wage. We should insist that every man be able to earn enough to support his wife and children at home without mom’s having to work. Before women entered the workforce, the family wage was a standard American business model.

After all, that’s what jobs are for (as we once understood)—to support a family. They don’t exist to earn profits for corporate shareholders. They exist to help normal people earn a living. People don’t exist to serve economies; economies exist to serve people. If the economy can’t provide each breadwinner with a decent wage, the answer isn’t to force women into the workforce, or for men and women to defer marriage indefinitely. The answer is to fix the economy.

It’s really not that complicated. Haven’t you ever wondered why your grandparents had a much nicer house than you do? Or how they bought it when they were half your age? Or how they filled it with sturdy wooden furniture? Have you ever wondered why your grandmother never had to work, even with five kids, but you and your husband work two jobs just to keep your dog in kibble? Our GDP continues to grow, but most of that wealth is going to plutocrats (such as the ones who control Big Tech).

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