Backed with abundant data, Kearney argues the collapse of marriage as a social institution among lower-income families has compounded the demographic consequences of stagnant wages and the loss of steady employment in many sectors and regions. This phenomenon, she writes, is inextricable from the education gap, the geographic narrowing of economic opportunities, and policy decisions that have reinforced the advantages of the already well-off.

Kearney’s work is an important intervention, not least because she is a prominent liberal economist affiliated with the Brookings Institution. Our unending culture wars have made it difficult for progressives—even those advocating generous family policies—to talk openly about the highly stratified nature of the decline in two-parent homes and its implications for development and social cohesion. And this unease is accentuated by the complexity of the problems at hand.

[Progressive policies led to the destruction of the family, first in Great Society welfare policies and in no-fault divorces. It has been central to the progressive ideology to “deconstruct” the nuclear family in order to elevate ad-hoc definitions as preferable depending on the tastes of the moment. I’m happy to see the center-Left start to take stock of the damage, but somehow I doubt this will produce anything more than some handwringing on that side of the aisle. — Ed]