Read the whole thing! It’s very good and brings up a lot of thought-provoking points.Single moms and the welfare state go together. Strong families and free markets go together. Morse argues that a combination of weak families and free markets is much less likely to persist.
If one views a strong state and a strong family as incompatible, then a case can be made that taking the state out of issues related to prostitution or abortion or marriage actually helps serve family values. If people know that they cannot rely on the state to arbitrate these issues, then they will turn to families, religious institutions, and other associations within communities to help strengthen our values.
For example, consider the issue of cursing. One of the more dubious examples of "liberation" in the 1960's was to break the taboo against using four-letter words. I have come to believe that restraint from using curse words helps to reinforce a sense of respect for other people. By not cursing, you set limits on your expressions of anger or contempt, and that in turn makes for better human relationships.
I would contend that other forms of morality, like speech codes, are best reinforced by nongovernmental means. When we see moral decline, we ought to try to resist turning to government as the solution. Instead, we should view moral decline as a symptom of an adverse cycle of government expansion and family breakdown.
Also, be sure to check out Love and Economics by Jennifer Roback Morse (a former GMU econ prof), which Kling refers to. A friend of mine recommended it to me about a week ago and it sounds like it’s very much worth a read.
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