Saving our country starts with saving marriage – new report
A major new report from The Heritage Foundation argues that the West is not facing a minor wobble but a family collapse. Its opening warning is blunt: “when a nation fails to preserve the family, the state soon fails to preserve itself”.
The report refuses to treat marriage as a lifestyle add-on. It points to the “stubborn facts of human nature: It takes one fertile man and one fertile woman to reproduce”, and insists that adult preferences cannot be allowed to trump children’s rights – “all children have a right to the affection and protection of the man and woman who created them”. It adds that “the ideal environment in which to exercise this right is in a loving and stable home with their married biological parents”.
Then comes the uncomfortable bit for policymakers. The report argues that modern welfare architecture often makes marriage a financial liability. “Marriage is one of the surest paths out of poverty and dependence and improves the well-being of adults, children, and society.” Yet “the War on Poverty in effect wages war on marriage”. In a striking phrase, it describes a state of “bureaugamy,” where “government welfare replaces the father”.
The cultural critique is just as pointed. The report says hookup culture, pornography, and the endless-scroll dating economy push commitment out of reach. “Most dating apps at their core are businesses with financial incentives that directly conflict with long-term marriage.” In other words, the profit model often depends on keeping people single, swiping, and dissatisfied.
This is an American report, but the fault lines are familiar in Britain. When marriage is treated as optional, fathers become optional, permanence becomes unrealistic, and children carry the costs. The lesson is not sentimental. It is practical.
A UK general election is likely within the next four years, and nothing matters more than any future government putting the family back at the centre of public policy. Coalition for Marriage is developing practical, UK-facing policy proposals for that moment. Supporters who want to shape that work can get in touch by emailing admin@c4m.org.uk.
Coalition for Marriage exists to keep the case for real marriage in the open, and to help people choose, enter, and sustain lifelong one-man one-woman marriage. The work is cultural, practical, and essential in the UK. It is also winnable!